


the right amount of pressure

by Oodles



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alpha Rude, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Claws, Knotting, Laughs At Reno, M/M, No mpreg, Reno is medically DTF, Scents, Werewolves, Werewolves in Heat, fangs, just two bros getting each other off like bros do
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2020-11-08 00:18:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 37,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20826209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oodles/pseuds/Oodles
Summary: Tseng built this pack methodically for a very specific purpose and now Reno’s just throwing wrenches everywhere. Rude is the only one getting hit.





	1. all bark and no bite

**Author's Note:**

> nobody edited this you can live with my mistakes like i do every day. 
> 
> anyway, if you read my other a/b/o thing, the rules are a little different this time so just get that out of your brain.
> 
> remake reno amiright? haha (sweats loudly)
> 
> [Disclaimer I’m an idiot and I gave Reno the wrong eye color, just ignore that.... pls]

Tseng certainly had a reason for everything he did, and Rude had come to expect that from him, but when the alpha asked Rude to join up with his pack, Rude had his doubts. Especially when Tseng mentioned their longest standing member didn’t generally get along with others alphas.

But Tseng was always the type to rip the bandaid off, and that’s exactly what he did when he brought Rude into the pack house for the first time. They were three steps into the living room before Reno came barreling down the stairs, blood in his eyes as he snarled at them, “you said I wouldn’t have to work with another fuckin’ alpha.”

Tseng smiled at him as though he’d only come to say hello. “Ah, Reno. Come with me.”

Reno was baring his teeth at Rude the whole time that Tseng dragged him out of the room. Everything about the redhead screamed alpha, from the fangs to the scent and the look in his eyes. Rude just watched them disappear around the corner, trying to listen in. 

Tseng was hushing the other wolf who was grumbling about Rude’s scent. Tseng had warned Rude that this might happen but that Reno would see reason quickly enough. It was often difficult to introduce alphas into existing packs, and there were fewer places to hide in such small ones. Either Reno would suck it up and learn to work with him or Rude would leave in a week at most. That’s how it usually went. 

Admittedly, Tseng seemed like a different kind of pack leader than what Rude was used to, but that didn’t make the transition with the other members any easier. 

“Oh! You’re the new guy, right?” 

Rude glanced up to see a girl peeking her blond head around the corner. He hadn’t smelled her at all. 

“Technically,” Rude said. “Though Tseng and I have been meeting for a couple of months now.”

The girl’s mouth opened and she walked into view. “Damnit, I guess I’m still the newest.”

“You must be Elena,” he said, extending his hand out to her. 

She took his wrist and grinned. “Nice to meet ya. Reno already say hey?”

“That’s one way to put it,” Rude muttered.

She laughed. “Well, if Tseng thinks you’re a good fit, we’ll figure it out. No problem. I know he can be, uh, feisty but.” She just laughed instead of finishing her sentence. “He can’t smell me so we’ve been fine!”

Tseng and Reno walked back into the room, Tseng with his hand on the back of Reno’s neck and a hint of a smile. “Take two?”

“Nice to meet ya,” Reno said, smiling like it was easy. There wasn’t a trace of aggression in him anymore, and his entire face looked softer somehow. His scent, too, had gone sweeter. It was like he’d somehow shifted from alpha to omega in a breath. Of course, that wasn’t possible.

Rude studied the marks around Reno’s eyes and nodded. “Looking forward to working with you.”

“Big time!” Reno laughed and put his hands on his hips. “Just do me a favor, big guy. Give me some warning before you show up?”

“No problem,” Rude said, grateful for the opaque sunglasses he hadn’t had the chance to remove yet. 

He was absolutely staring at Reno’s lips. 

“How’d I do, boss?” Reno asked Tseng, still smiling.

“Great,” the alpha said, releasing his hold on Reno’s neck. “Training tomorrow morning, bright and early. The four of us can meet at the Shinra gym. Why waste time, right?”

“That I can do,” Reno said, angling away from Rude. “I’m off, then. See you tomorrow.”

He took the back way out of the house, probably just to avoid walking closer to Rude. That was fine. He smelled like fucking candy. 

  
  


The Turks were a specialized pack of werewolves specifically designed to defend Rufus Shinra. It was important that they not conflate their job with their pack loyalties, which was why even though Tseng was technically their boss, he was also their pack leader, and Rufus was everyone’s responsibility. 

It was odd to be recruited into a pack like this, but it made sense to Rude as they trained at the gym the next day. Tseng had made very careful decisions about his pack. Elena was a beta with absolutely no scent to her, and a broken nose that meant she couldn’t differentiate between alpha, omega or beta. Tseng was an impeccably trained alpha with a knack for reading and subduing others. Rude knew why he’d been recruited. He was an alpha but he read like a beta to most people. The three of them were perfect for guarding someone as unmistakable as Rufus Shinra. They could blend pretty much anywhere.

And then there was Reno. 

They went a few rounds, Reno and Rude. Rude wasn’t expecting much from the lanky redhead, but he fought like a wild animal. He was inhumanely fast when he wanted to be. The whole time they were fighting, Reno read like an alpha. It made it easier for Rude to get in close and shut him down, but the second Rude had him in a shoulder lock, every bit of that alpha energy left Reno in a rush. 

Rude backed off of him immediately and Reno started to smile.

“Scared?” The redhead asked, breathing hard. 

Rude could only inhale through his mouth and pray no one pressed him on the matter. He wasn’t about to tell Reno that he didn’t want to hurt him because he smelled like an omega. Something told Rude that was a one-way ticket to pissing the redhead off. 

It was easy to fight another alpha. Tapping into that aggression came naturally, and Rude was no stranger to brawling. But the second he smelled that soft scent, everything in his body protested the fight. Least of all when Reno was panting for air and giving Rude that amused half-smile like he _ knew _ that Rude wouldn’t dare. Rude absolutely hated to admit that it was a good look for the other wolf. Whatever the fuck Reno was doing to tap into that omega thing was cruel. Because it wasn’t _ just _ that he smelled like an omega. He smelled like heat, goddamn overpowering deliriously good _ heat _that speared through Rude’s body every time he caught it. 

Something was up with this wolf, but Rude couldn’t deny that he was good at his job. Reno knew exactly how to take advantage of his stature and his scent. 

Rude was sure that by the end of a week of training with the Turks that Tseng would quietly let him go, judging from the way Reno dodged Rude at every opportunity when they weren’t at work-assigned gym meetings. The task was to learn how to mesh their styles, and Rude was surprised at how well they pulled it off considering that the second their time was up, Reno was out the door like a streak of lightning.

“He’s getting used to you,” Tseng assured Rude. He seemed every bit the confident pack leader he’d always been, but Rude was not so sure. 

Still, Tseng kept him on well beyond that first week. Elena made things easier, a constant cheery and calming presence, if not a bit overly talkative. Rude never minded that. He tried to weasel some info out of her about Reno, but either she didn’t know or Reno purposefully lied to her. 

“Is he being mean?” she asked when Rude tried to press her. “I swear, alphas like him are all bark and no bite.”

Rude raised his brow. It didn’t seem that simple to him. 

“I think Tseng likes him because he confuses people,” Elena went on, hands idle around her third empty glass of beer. “Tseng’s really smart like that, you know? He sees, like, your strengths and weaknesses. I don’t really get it because I can’t smell people, but Reno can make other wolves do this double take, you know?” 

She laughed, gaze going distant. “Apparently he did it to Rufus once… Tseng chewed him out. Literally. He had a bruise on his neck for like two weeks.”

Her cheeks were red and Rude wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or the thought of Tseng biting someone. “Our boss is so hot.”

“Alright, girl, it’s time for bed,” Rude said. 

Elena’s eyes went bright. “_ Noo_, I’m having so much fun!”

“You’re a lightweight,” Rude said. “And I don’t want to carry you home, so we should go while you’re still mobile. Preferably before you start texting our boss.”

Elena slapped her hand on the counter. “I would _ never_.”

“No offense,” Rude started, eyes on his phone screen. “But I don’t trust you to know how to hold your tongue.”

She gasped and then started giggling. “You are so…_ you_.”

Rude stood up from the stool and put his hand on Elena’s back. “Where do you live? I’ll get you home safe.”

She rose up, swayed and used Rude’s arm to brace herself. “It’s okay, I can just go to Reno’s. It’s right around here. That’s actually why I know this bar. We come here sometimes.”

“He won’t get mad at you showing up drunk?” Rude asked, brow raised.

Elena tapped her fingertips together like some kind of cartoon villain. “Reno can’t say no to me. It’s my secret weapon. I’ll text him just in case, though.”

She guided Rude a few blocks away to a human-only apartment building, leaning heavily on his arm as they walked. 

“You must be pretty far gone,” Rude said as Elena tried to pull him inside the door. “He can’t be here.”

“No, no, shhh, it’s secret,” she said, stage whispering to him as she got him to follow. “He’s _ alllllll _ the way up.”

Ignoring the suspicious feeling in his gut, Rude did as she instructed. 

“He ever mention me to you?” Rude asked her as the elevator brought them to the very top floor. “Why he avoids me?”

Elena laughed, tucking her face against Rude’s bicep and closing her eyes. “Maybe he likes you.”

Rude sighed. Elena’s head was in the clouds. When the doors opened, there was a narrow hallway leading to a single door. It was already open and Reno was leaning in it, right foot propped waist high in the entryway like a gate. He was chewing gum that Rude could smell from the elevator. 

Reno pointed at Rude. “That’s far enough, sir.”

“Reno!” Elena walked over to him, grinning ear to ear. “My best friend. My brother in arms. Sweet wolfo’ mine.”

He gave her a smile and lowered his foot so she could walk inside. “You’re a fuckin’ idiot, you know?”

“Love you too,” she said and pressed her index finger into his cheek. 

He groaned and gave her a push into the apartment. “You know where the guest room is.”

“My room!” Elena shouted. “Where I sleep! When I’m drunk!”

She tottered off and Rude cleared his throat. “Sorry about this.”

Reno turned to face him and the fond smile he’d had for Elena vanished in an instant, back to guarded alpha. His scent was shifting too, everything about him getting sharper and less welcoming. 

“Doesn’t bother me,” he said. Even his mouth looked thinner. “She’s always welcome here. You, however, should kindly get lost.”

Rude gave a slight nod of his head. “Yeah…”

Reno stood up and Rude felt this window quickly sliding shut. 

“Just don’t let her text Tseng,” he said quickly.

Reno barked out a laugh and his eyes went vibrant. “God, why do I always wanna protect idiots? I’ll take her phone away. Thanks.”

When he smiled at Rude, his face went back to that soft look that he usually never aimed at alphas. Even though Rude was actively restraining himself from reacting, it was like Reno could read his fucking mind because the second he found himself thinking about Reno’s lips, the redhead’s expression went dead and he slammed the door shut. 

“Bye!” He shouted through the door.

Rude could smell that he hadn’t moved from the other side of the door, but Rude wasn’t an idiot so he just pressed the button for the lobby and leaned against the wall of the elevator. _ Don’t press your luck_.

  
  


Rude watched it in real time. They were out on the job with Rufus, him and Reno. Someone was getting too close. They had a signal with Rufus that he would make when he wanted them to get someone to back off. Reno and Rude typically worked in such a way where they split the space in half so that they wouldn’t bump into each other. In this case, the unwelcome stranger was a poorly disguised journalist. This was the most common type of person they had to ward off from Rufus while they were around Midgar and it didn’t usually get serious but sometimes they were determined enough to raise their hackles. 

This guy was approaching from Reno’s side, so he split off to intercept and Rude stayed by Rufus, who was busy addressing the _ actual _ arranged interviewer. It was in poor form for Rude to take his eyes off Rufus, but he couldn’t help himself. He wanted to make sure Reno didn’t need back-up, and he was curious.

The stranger was pretty hefty, an alpha by his scent. Reno walked right up to him and smiled with fangs. 

“No farther than that, friend,” Reno said. 

The alpha looked unperturbed by Reno, eyes still on Rufus. He made like he might try to push Reno out of the way, so Reno of course got directly in front of him and rested his forearm against the guy’s chest as a warning.

Instinctively, the alpha reeled his arm back. Rude could see Reno’s expression shift from ready-to-kick-your-ass to a full on pouty-lipped, dewy eyed, slightly blushing, come-hither stare. It was fucking obscene. The alpha’s arm went slack and his mouth fell open. Reno waved the guy’s phone in front of his face and his fangs were back. Rude _ and _ the stranger had been too distracted to see Reno snatch it.

“This yours?” Reno asked.

The guy huffed. “Give that back.”

“It’d be a real shame if I threw it out the fuckin’ window,” Reno said, grinning. He slipped the phone back into the front pocket of the guy’s jeans and physically turned him around.

“Bye,” Reno before giving him a pat on the back.

Stunned, the man shuffled away. When Reno walked back over to them and took his spot a few feet away from Rude, he had a pleased look on his face. 

It was difficult for Rude to keep his eyes on Rufus for the rest of the job.

  
  


“You’re lucky you can’t smell, you know,” Rude told Elena one night. 

“Oh, does the big man have a crush?” She asked with a grin.

Rude snorted and looked out the window. She was driving him home after a job. Elena wasn’t hired as muscle, though she trained with them anyway. Technically, she was Tseng’s assistant, but she was still every bit a part of the pack.

“Crushes are for teenagers,” Rude muttered.

“You’re just stressed because you think your pack mate doesn’t like you,” Elena said. “Seriously, you and Reno need to make peace. I want to go drinking with both of you.”

Rude was trying not to smile. “That sounds like chaos.”

“You’re evading,” she said, slapping the steering wheel. “Make friends with Reno!”

“Don’t know how,” he admitted. “He doesn’t want me around. I think he hates alphas.”

“Just do what I did,” Elena said, touching her chest. “Show up to his place with free food. Fun fact, Reno is incapable of saying no to sushi. He has a problem.”

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Rude said. 

“Salmon,” she added. “He loves salmon. I’m just saying.”

Rude grumbled. 

“I’ll text you the name of the place by him,” she went on, undeterred.

And that was how Rude wound up riding that elevator back to Reno’s place with entirely too much take-out sushi in a plastic bag. He felt like an idiot, especially when the elevator doors slid open and Reno was standing in the doorway of his apartment, arms folded, eyes narrowed. 

“I told you to warn me,” Reno said, voice cold as ice.

“Yeah, you did, didn’t you,” Rude sighed, caught sight of Reno’s bare feet and glanced away. _ This was a mistake. _

Reno took several quick breaths, gaze snapping up and down between Rude’s face and the plastic bag. “You piece of shit, did you bring sushi?”

“I… maybe,” Rude said. 

“You fuckin’ asshole,” Reno said and walked over to him, snatching the bag out of Rude’s hands. He peered inside, saw the menu from the restaurant and glared at Rude. Without a word he stormed back into his apartment and disappeared from sight.

Rude stood there for ten seconds before Reno shouted, “The fuck are you still standing out there for? Come in and shut the door.”

Breathing through his mouth, Rude walked into Reno’s apartment. It was shockingly nice, and clean to boot. Rude suddenly felt like an asshole for expecting chaos. Reno was already sitting at a high top counter inhaling salmon rolls. 

“Fucking love this place,” he said. He slid a plastic box and a pair of chopsticks toward Rude. “Don’t make me feel like a dick. Eat something.”

Rude walked over, unlidded the box of beef gyoza, took the chopsticks and backed away to lean against the wall. It was about the same amount of space they kept between them while they were working. 

“Take your sunglasses off,” Reno said, eyes still on his box of sushi. He was halfway through his portion. “Why do you always wear those, anyway? Even inside.”

Rude took a breath, set his chopsticks along the side of the box and placed his sunglasses on the edge of the counter. “Prone to migraines.”

Reno looked over at him. “No shit.”

“Yes, sir,” Rude said. 

“Like, light sensitivity?” Reno asked, green eyes manically skipping around Rude’s body.

“Yep.” Rude looked back at his gyoza, considering which one to force himself to eat just to please Reno, who was still staring at him. Tonight, he smelled like an alpha who’d just spent the night with an omega, the one scent clinging to the other. 

The redhead adjusted his feet against the barstool, sliding the support beam between two of his toes. “Surprising. Tseng said you got a thing about making people think you’re a beta.”

“You and him are the only alphas who’ve ever been able to tell on the first try,” Rude admitted. 

Reno laughed. “Well.”

“Hm?” Rude looked up at him, but he was facing the sushi again. 

“Nah, nah,” Reno waved his right hand. “Better if you think that.” 

“We’re packmates,” Rude said.

“Government assigned,” Reno sounded the words out carefully. “You know, if you wanna be technical.”

Rude didn’t say anything to that. Obviously Reno wanted to be technical. If that made things easier for him, who was Rude to object? He shouldn’t make things worse just because he was curious about this person.

“Why are you here?” Reno asked, pushing away an empty plastic container and grabbing another.

Rude considered what to say, pushing around the gyoza. He still hadn’t eaten anything. “Elena wants us to make peace. She doesn’t think you hate me. I have no clue what you feel.”

Reno made an unhappy noise and leaned back a little, setting his hands on the edge of the stool between his legs. “She’s real good at that. Twisting your arm without even touching you.”

Rude chuckled. “Yeah. I don’t really mind.”

“Yeah, me neither,” Reno said. He reached over and plucked a hunk of ginger out of the plastic box, tossing the whole thing in his mouth. 

“Nice place you got here,” Rude said. “How’d you pull off getting into a human-only complex.”

Reno nodded as he chewed. “Tseng pulled some strings. Long as I’m on good behavior, they let it slide. He also pays for the cleaning service, in case you’re wondering about that. Don’t think I live like this by choice. It’s all just so they leave me alone.”

Rude studied Reno’s profile, still in his white work shirt, but the jacket and the shoes were the only pieces missing. 

“I guess I really meant _ why _ are you in a human-only complex?” Rude clarified.

Reno sniffed once and pushed his food away. “I have a timer.”

Rude went still, watching Reno closely. The other wolf was staring at the marbled countertop like it meant something.

“Like a body clock, you know? It starts up any time I’m in a room with an alpha or an omega. I can’t help it, it just happens. Worse with alphas, by far. Omegas give me like half an hour, but I’m lucky to get fifteen with an alpha. Which means you have about two minutes left,” Reno finished. 

“Til what?” Rude asked.

Reno rolled his shoulders. “Before the heat comes back and I turn into a shameless idiot. Or we fight. You can pick.” He gave Rude a bright eyed smile.

Rude raised his brow. “Are you an omega who reads like an alpha? Or the other way around?”

“Yes,” Reno said, still smiling.

Rude just blinked. 

“I got the worst of both worlds, baby.” Reno grinned. “A fun little medical mystery. There’s a technical name but nobody gives a shit. The fact is that I have an overactive set of everything and I am never not in the mood. My factory settings are angry and horny. Some days I’m just both. It’s _ fantastic_. Tseng has a little trick up his sleeve and that’s how I can stand him, but no one else is exempt. Your time is up, by the way.”

Rude straightened his back. Right on cue, Reno’s scent began to shift. Hard candy melting on his tongue, but he couldn’t taste it. It was making his mouth water up.

“You’re… _ always _ in heat?” Rude surmised. “It’s your default?”

Reno’s leg was bouncing up and down now. “Your clock ran out. I can’t talk to you, man. My… my brain won’t let me.” 

Rude had to remind himself to breathe through his mouth, but even that wasn’t enough to stop from staring at Reno’s lips again. Never in his life had he wanted to bite something so bad.

“Does anything make it better?” Rude asked. 

Reno gave this quiet sound like he’d pulled a muscle and he was trying not to let on how bad it hurt. “Come _ on _ , man, you can’t play twenty fucking questions smelling the way you do. I told you how it works. You’re alpha all over and I haven't been touched in _ way _ too long.”

Rude’s vision was zeroing in on all the wrong things. Reno’s fist tensing on the counter top, the arch of his bare foot stretching as he strained it against the barstool, the tip of his long, red ponytail.

“God damn.” He truly was not thinking.

“_Rude,_” Reno snarled his name and he finally met Reno’s gaze again. Vibrant green. “It’s not nice to make your coworker think about your dick if you’re not gonna follow through.”

Rude cleared his throat and came just close enough to put his container of food back on the counter. “Sorry. It’s not your fault that I’m partial to people who read me the right way.”

Reno lurched forward grabbed Rude’s jacket sleeve at the wrist. His fangs were out, but Rude realized now that this must be part of it, too. If he pushed that fighting instinct right to the surface, it pulled the heat back down. 

“How dare you be honest at a time like this,” Reno said. 

Rude narrowed his eyes, which was usually enough to piss off any alpha that already wanted to fight. “Can you keep talking if you’re mad?”

“Guess we’ll find out,” Reno said. “You’re gamble if you stay.”

Rude shrugged. “I promised Elena I’d try to make peace.”

“Just admit you want to fuck me,” Reno said.

“Fine,” Rude said.

Apparently that was the wrong answer because Reno’s eyes flashed and all the aggression went out the window. 

“Asshole.” His scent shot through Rude’s system as sharp as alcohol and just as intoxicating. Back to square one.

“I’m not a good liar,” Rude told him quietly, and goddamnit, he was staring at Reno’s mouth again.

“I’m gonna claw your fucking tongue out,” Reno said, but his voice was a whisper.

“You sound like you’re having fun,” Rude told him.

How had they leaned so close to each other? Shit. Rude was so very close that he could see the absolute lightest dusting of freckles over Reno’s face. The kind that looked like they needed sun to really show, but god knew Reno didn’t go out if he didn’t have to. According to Elena, he lived off delivery services and _ she _drove him everywhere he needed to go. Now, at least Rude understood why. 

“Mark my words, you piece of shit,” Reno said. Rude could feel the warmth of his breath and smell the ginger he’d just eaten. “I’m gonna kick your ass the next time I see you, assuming I’m not too distracted thinking about you fucking me.”

“Now you’re just taunting,” Rude said. “You want me to leave or not?”

Reno grabbed Rude’s tie in his fist, yanking him down to Reno’s level so he had to brace himself on the counter. “No, of fucking course I don’t want you to leave, you have beautiful eyes and I am so goddamn hard right now.”

Rude half smiled at him and plucked Reno’s hand from his tie. “No need for that.”

“I’m gonna scream if you don’t touch me,” Reno said, shrugging like it truly was out of his control. 

Rude stepped over to Reno’s side of the counter, stepped all the way up to him until they were nearly chest to chest, and Reno parted his legs _ and _ his lips as he tilted his head back to look up at Rude’s face. His scent was every kind of sugar and Rude could just about taste it already. He reached around to the back of Reno’s head and found the base of his ponytail, threading his fingers through it.

“You keep it like this so it’s easier to handle you?” Rude asked.

Reno licked his lips and his eyes were practically neon. “Yeah. And in case you were wondering, the carpets _ do _ match the drapes.”

“I wasn’t,” Rude said, wrapping Reno’s ponytail around his palm. “But thanks.”

He could _ feel _Reno’s heart thudding away as he began to pull on the wolf’s hair. Reno huffed, eyes sliding shut, face turning red. His mouth was open and Rude made sure to hold tight as he set his other hand on the inside of Reno’s thigh. 

Reno _ whined _ as he tried to push into it but Rude pulled harder. 

“Bastard,” Reno said but it wasn’t the least bit threatening in such a breathy voice. 

Rude gripped the wolf’s thigh and watched a shiver pass over Reno’s whole body. 

“Gonna… kill you,” Reno mumbled, brow twitching as Rude pressed into the crease of his hips. “The hell are you waiting for?”

Rude began to scratch his nails down the inside of Reno’s thigh. “You always guard this spot when we fight. D’you even realize?”

Reno shivered again, visibly shaking as he tongued at his own bottom lip. He was nodding his head as Rude scratched harder.

“_O-oh okay, okay, okay_,” Reno was trembling by then. “You’re making me wanna shift, man. You’re driving me nuts. I got one foot in the grave, Rude, _ you are killing me._”

Rude laughed and that was apparently the last straw. Reno snarled, and the sound was startling enough to make Rude loosen his grip. The slightest bit of space was all Reno needed to lunge at Rude. The barstool hit the floor with an earth shatteringly loud noise, but Rude wasn’t paying attention. Nothing would have been loud enough to pull him away from the sensation of Reno dragging his tongue over Rude’s neck. 

Reno was clinging with his arms and legs wrapped around Rude’s body. Rude could feel Reno’s erection pressed up against him. He barely had the awareness to think they should sit down, but he walked them over to the couch while Reno was busy licking Rude’s neck like he could live off the alpha’s scent. It was making Rude’s legs weak the way Reno was hardly keeping himself back from sucking on Rude’s skin, but they were both smart enough to know not to leave any marks.

The delirious little noises Reno kept making were such a deep satisfaction to Rude’s wolf brain. He sank onto the couch and leaned his head back for Reno to keep going. The points of Reno’s teeth were getting sharper but he was careful not to bite. Rude wondered as he pressed Reno’s body in closer if he had both the scent spots of an alpha_ and _ an omega. 

He went for the wrist first, the obvious answer being that if Reno was in heat, he would have to have an omega’s build. Rude nudged the white shirt sleeve down with his nose and licked at Reno’s skin. The reward was two fold at the immediate taste of pure heat and Reno moaning in his ear. At least Rude knew that one was there, but he didn’t want to press to see about Reno’s neck. Two alphas tended to repel each other, scent wise. This was safer and besides, Reno tasted good just like this. Tonguing at that point under Reno’s skin was like tasting lightning. 

Despite his shivering, Reno leaned back to meet Rude’s gaze and force himself to speak even though it sounded like he could hardly get the words out. “You need to stop wasting my time and touch me like a _ goddamn alpha_.”

Rude simply couldn’t refuse. As soon as he started undoing Reno’s pants, the other wolf slid back to give Rude more space, which quickly turned to bracing himself on Rude’s thighs as the alpha took him in hand. Rude paused to admire the red marks on Reno’s hip bones that matched the set around his eyes. On anyone else he’d have laughed, but it looked good on Reno, because of course it did. It helped that Rude had him by the dick and Reno definitely looked even better when he was taut like a wire. 

Getting him going was only the start, though. Reno wasn’t even looking at Rude as he pulled his white shirt open to touch his own chest. Rude growled, immediately displeased that it wasn’t _ him _touching, and pushed Reno’s hand away so he could get his mouth over Reno’s nipple. 

Reno curled over Rude’s body, hugging Rude’s face to his chest and thrusting his hips into the tunnel of Rude’s hand. Rude could tell Reno was getting closer, could imagine the rising feeling in the bottom of Reno’s stomach at that exact moment. Reno was loud, to absolutely no surprise, in turn moaning, panting or just yelping as his body worked toward relief. Rude still wasn’t entirely sure how to treat him. He sure as shit wasn’t about to knot Reno when this whole situation was still so unsure. Touching was worth a shot, though.

Rude slid his hand down Reno’s spine, waiting to see if there was any bit of resistance, but Reno just gripped the back of Rude’s head and breathed, “Oh fuck yes.” That was all the permission Rude needed to start working his fingers inside Reno’s body, sighing at the slick feeling that met his skin. 

The way they communicated when they were in the field was subtle— quiet signals passed to minimize getting in each other’s way or going unnoticed by a crowd. If they did have to fight together, it was always with Reno taking the lead and Rude backing him up so things didn’t get out of hand. Rude was typically in charge of preventing anything from escalating. 

It was laughable to think about it now. There was absolutely nothing subtle about Reno and tonight, Rude was intentionally trying to make him lose control. 

With a tight grip on both Rude’s shoulders, Reno rolled his hips with Rude’s hands, cursing as he hunched forward. Rude knew how to read him well enough by now, didn’t fight it as Reno set his own pace. It was better this way, Rude realized. One of them should have their head above water and Reno certainly wasn’t capable. Besides, it suited Reno— losing his goddamn mind like this.

“Enjoying yourself?” Rude asked.

Reno didn’t stop moving. “Gonna fucking kill you.”

He pressed his face back to Rude’s neck, mumbling that over and over until his right hand went knife sharp with a shift and he raked all five claws down Rude’s chest. Rude barely hid a grimace at the pain, but Reno didn’t notice by a longshot, not when he grabbed Rude’s face as he came, his entire body leaning into it. The sound he made was perfect, just the right amount of relief showing through the strain. 

They weren’t going to kiss, that was for damn sure, but something sparked under Rude’s skin as Reno fit their noses together, catching his breath. It was that wolfish want to care for the person he’d just worked over. Rude settled for pulling at Reno’s lip with his teeth— the closest he could bring himself to being affectionate.

“You good?” Rude asked. 

Reno didn’t have any aggression in his eyes, which felt like an improvement, but what the hell did Rude know? Reno leaned his head back and sighed, a tiny curve to his lips as he pushed his fingers through his hair. When he looked back down at Rude, his relaxed expression immediately sharpened with panic as he saw the torn shirt and the wounds he’d left. 

“Oh fuck I came on your cut,” Reno said and jumped off of Rude like he’d been burned. He fixed his pants in a one legged dance and bolted into what Rude guessed was a bathroom, shouting, “Get in here before it starts to heal!”

Rude blinked at the empty room and pinched the bridge of his nose. There was definitely pain radiating through his shoulder _ and _ his temples. When he finally got himself up and into the bathroom midway down the hall, Reno practically dragged him over to sit on the lid of the toilet and unceremoniously ripped the rest of Rude’s shirt off with those claws. 

“C’mon,” Rude said as Reno chucked the wet, tattered mess into the trash can.

“What, were you gonna fucking stitch it back together?” Reno asked, snorting. He grabbed disinfectant and splashed some on Rude’s chest.

Rude hissed at the sting of the alcohol and made a fist. “This how you were gonna do it?”

“Do what?” Reno asked, and he finally sounded calmer. 

“Kill me,” Rude finished, glancing up at the redhead. “Infection’s a hell of a way to go.”

Reno smirked as he wiped down Rude’s skin. “Not my style. You’ll _ know _ when I’m tryna kill you.”

“I’m sure I will,” Rude said, breathing out as the pain faded and the cuts began to heal. 

Reno leaned both his hands onto Rude’s thighs so they were staring at each other eye to eye. “Just because you bought me sushi and jerked me off doesn’t mean this was a date.”

Rude looked over Reno’s expression, probably about as neutral as he’d ever seen it. “Didn’t think it was.”

“Great,” Reno said, smiling. “We should definitely not tell Tseng about this.”

“Absolutely not,” Rude agreed. “He’d kill me.”

“He’d kill us both,” Reno said and straightened back up. “Efficiently. He probably already has a contingency plan for this exact scenario planned out. Two separate hitmen that strike at the same time, ya know?” He bit his thumbnail, staring at the wall. 

Rude rose up and Reno’s green eyes found his immediately. “Listen, you don’t owe me anything, but if you’re all set then I should get out of here.”

Reno’s eyes were frantically skipping all around Rude’s face and he was biting his nail harder until he finally nodded and gestured to the door with his whole arm. “See you at work, I guess.”

Rude laughed quietly and looked down at his bare chest. “You don’t happen to have a shirt that’s three sizes too big for you, do you?”

“Oh, uh, hold on,” Reno zipped out of the room and down the hall while Rude stepped out to retrieve his sunglasses. He tucked them into the front pocket of his pants and Reno came jogging back up to him with a faded white t-shirt in his hands. “Sorry in advance.”

Rude held the shirt up, saw _ Mister Midgar University _ and raised his eyebrows. “You stole this.”

“Shamelessly,” Reno said. 

Rude slipped the shirt on, barely big enough for him. “Thanks.”

“Hey, so, uh, try not to viscerally regret this in the morning,” Reno said. “I’d hate for you to quit over some bullshit.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Rude told him as he headed for the front door. 

“Cool, maybe just shoot me a text if you decide to hold a grudge or something,” Reno went on. He smelled just a touch anxious so Rude paused with his hand on the door knob. 

“You buy the food next time, I’ll call it even,” Rude said. 

Reno folded his arms. “No dice.”

“Shit,” Rude shrugged. “Guess we’re enemies after all.”

Reno snorted again, tonguing at his incisor. “Clock’s set again. Get out.”

“I’m gone,” Rude said, opening the door.

  
  


It took three breaths before Rude knew he was officially fucked. Once, in the elevator down from Reno’s place. He pulled the collar of the t-shirt up over his nose and breathed Reno’s scent. That time, he was trying to figure out if it was more alpha or omega. Nobody wore baggy shirts unless they were lazing around, which told Rude that Reno wore this when he wasn’t seeing anyone, i.e. in his most relaxed state. Rude wanted to know if Reno defaulted to alpha or omega when he was alone, but the shirt did not answer his question. It smelled like both, just _ Reno_, which was to say, it smelled like candy.

The second time was in the back of the cab he called to get home because the seats smelled like booze and candy was preferable to that, wasn’t it? He leaned his elbow on the windowsill and used the shirt as a filter for better air. With the fabric against his lips, he thought about kissing Reno. Which was to say, he knew he’d made the right decision _ not _ to kiss Reno, felt like the redhead might have actually resorted to violence if Rude had even tried, but he had those goddamn lips. It wasn’t about affection or some bullshit alpha ritual, either. 

Reno’s mouth just looked good. 

The third breath came when Rude got into his apartment, took his boots off, slid the incriminating shirt off and laid across his bed. Thirty seconds of absolute silence went by before there was the sound of screeching tires out front, because nobody in Midgar could fucking drive and the intersection outside his building was cursed. Rude grabbed the discarded shirt from the end of his bed and laid it across his face.

“Sonofabitch,” he sighed. 

He wanted Reno so fucking bad. 

The next day, when Rude showed up at the pack house at ten am like he always did because that was the time he and Reno had agreed on months ago, the redhead was sitting at the kitchen table with Elena playing a card game.

“Listen up, you piece of shit,” Reno said, spinning around in his chair to glare at Rude.

_ I’m dead_, Rude thought as he stood in the doorway. _ He’s gonna stab me in the neck with those claws. _

“You have mail,” Reno finished, pointing with his thumb at the counter. “Who the fuck do you know in Kalm?”

Elena gasped. “Is it a pretty werewolf?”

Ever grateful for his sunglasses, Rude walked over to the counter and picked up the envelope addressed to him. Junk mail. “None of your business.”

“It _ must _ be a wolf,” Elena declared, fists raised in the air. 

“They send you nudes?” Reno asked, leaning his chin on his fist. 

“Oh my god,” Elena sighed. “Nobody sends nudes _ in the mail _ you idiot.”

“What the hell do you know about it?” Reno asked her.

She snorted. “Everyone has a computer in their pocket, why would someone waste their time printing out a picture and paying to send it through the post? That’s so stupid.”

Reno pointed his whole hand at her. “Vintage nudes, for a classy werewolf. You think Rude’s too good for classy, vintage nudes?”

“Oh my god, are they showing wrist?” Elena asked. “Did they drop their parasail?”

“Umbrellas are the sexiest accessory,” Reno said. 

Elena burst out laughing and Rude finally took a full breath. Maybe they were going to be alright. Rude didn’t mind carrying a bit of a torch if it made their work easier.

Tseng came in shortly after to announce their next big assignment. All four of them had been requested to accompany Rufus as he toured a new Shinra facility. Something about showing good faith with slightly-less-than-trusted factions. In a few days, the four of them would get to the location first and give it a preemptive inspection before Rufus himself arrived, which meant getting there very early. 

Rude wasn’t thinking much about it. The usual fare. He was more focused on Reno’s relaxed expression. It was almost cruel how careless it was. He looked good, one foot propped on the bottom rung of Elena’s chair. One slip up didn’t necessarily mean they were poisoned.

When the time came for their assignment, they took a company car, which meant it was the kind that any Shinra bigshot could hide in if they wanted. Elena was driving, because she always did, and Tseng was in the front passenger seat, because he always sat there.

Which meant Reno and Rude were in the backseat, both of them leaning against the doors of the car with as much space between them as possible. Rude knew something was wrong when Reno started playing with the divider, raising and lowering the opaque black glass between the front and back in shuddering little bursts. The mechanical strain of the device was like the car trying to catch its breath.

“Can you, like, wait until I’ve had coffee to do that,” Elena said. “It’s seven in the morning.”

Reno huffed, setting the window to close. “Well if you’re gonna be like that, I’ll see you when we’re there.”

Rude could _ feel _ Elena rolling her eyes, but he could also see Reno’s leg bouncing up and down. He was weighing the options of asking Reno if he was okay, continuing to give him space, or starting a random conversation to distract. It was pretty common for alphas to get uncomfortable like this, rebelling against the stillness of long car rides. He knew he certainly didn’t like sitting in the backseat if he could help it, but he also had more outlets available than Reno did. He’d gone running last night in preparation for this hour long car ride.

Reno leaned his head against the window, his breath turning the glass to fog. His leg was still going as he pressed the pad of his thumb to the point of his fang. His scent was filling the air like steam in a sauna. Alpha anger layered over heat scent. Sweet and savory. 

“You’re gonna make yourself bleed,” Rude said, hyperfocused on Reno’s open mouth. 

Reno set his hand on the seat beside himself, claws out. Not a good sign. The way he was still angled away from Rude signalled that he didn’t want to talk, and Rude was fine to let it go. Sometimes it was better to just let someone work out their frustration in their own head. 

Or, that’s what he assumed until Reno turned to look at something as their car passed into a tunnel. He undid his own seatbelt and slid over to undo Rude’s too. Just like that, every hint of aggression was gone and that sweet scent poured off of him like smoke.

“We have thirty mintues until we get there, take your fucking belt off,” Reno said, annoyed as if they had discussed a plan and Rude wasn’t pulling his weight.

“You serious?” Rude asked. 

“Sector four has shit road-side security.” Reno looked up at him, eyes pleading, his hand on Rude’s thigh. “I _ just _wanna suck your dick.”

Rude blinked at him in disbelief. “Oh, that all?”

“Yes!” Reno snapped, grip tightening. “C’mon man, I’m dying.”

Rude couldn’t fucking tell that. In truth, Reno looked good. Very good. He had the nice version of his uniform on with the little buckle at his waist, still with that ridiculous neckline which Rude now understood was simultaneously a method of distraction in a fight _ and _ because Reno was pretty much constantly overheated. Black suited Reno, though. So did desperation, but Rude wasn’t cruel. 

When he started to undo his belt, Reno sighed, “_Thank god_,” and crawled into the seatwell in front of Rude. There was just enough room for him to fit between Rude’s legs. 

Reno laughed. “Fancy ass Shinra cars.” He pressed his face right to Rude’s groin, but Rude instinctively grabbed him by the ponytail, yanking his head back.

“Teeth,” Rude breathed.

Reno’s eyes were wild. “It’s not a goddamn leash.”

Rude let his grip up. “Sorry.”

Reno opened his mouth and stuck his tongue out. His incisors had gone back down to human size, but Rude wasn’t looking at his teeth. “I know what I’m doing. Asshole.”

Rude smirked. “My bad.”

Reno unzipped Rude’s pants so quickly that the sound was like an exclamation mark. “I’m tryna do something nice for you and all you got is critiques.”

Rude kept quiet and raised his hands up into the air in mock surrender. Reno smiled, a little gentler with the button. He stopped again with his fingers hooked into the front of Rude’s underwear. Their gazes met and Rude gave a sharp breath at the feel of Reno’s skin against his cock.

“On second thought,” Reno said. “You can pull my hair if you want.”

He dropped his head back down and only then did Rude remember that Tseng and Elena could lower that divider whenever they wanted. Reno wasted no time pulling Rude into his mouth, giving this noise that sounded for all the world like he loved the taste. Rude knew it was probably closer to relief that he was able to indulge a habit, but he didn’t mind pretending for a moment. 

The fear of his boss _ and _ pack leader in the front seat had Rude trying to keep a straight face, but Reno. _ Reno_. Rude gripped the handle above the door with every bit of strength he had so that when he put his free hand on the back of Reno’s neck, he wouldn’t leave a bruise. What he wouldn’t give to put his teeth in that skin.

Reno was practically purring, eyes closed as he swallowed Rude down. It would have been enough, the way he moved with feverish intent. But the blissful look on his face and the appreciative sounds he made were throwing Rude for a loop— like _ Reno _ was the one about to go off in the back of their boss’s car. Maybe he was. 

Rude opened his mouth so he wouldn’t cut his own lip on his fangs. He didn’t usually get so fucked over by this kind of thing, but imagining that Reno was just as hard as Rude was had him sweating. Maybe Rude could get him next. Maybe it wasn’t even a question and he would have to pin Reno down to these too-nice leather seats and figure out a way to keep him from getting as loud as he did last time. 

Reno grabbed the front of Rude’s shirt as he got him all the way down his throat and Rude finally just leaned his head back. He still tried to be quiet but damn if he didn’t want to start growling. He usually prided himself on avoiding that stupid alpha wolf mindset but apparently the difference between composure and wanting to put your coworker into submission was exactly the shape and size of Reno’s tongue.

When the car came to a violent halt, Elena let out a yelp loud enough to register as a muffled noise up front. Rude threw his hands against the divider to stop his momentum as he lurched forward. The sound of shattering glass and crushed metal wasn’t half as alarming as the awful hack that Reno gave as he reared back off of Rude. He started frantically slapping the door of the car and Rude didn’t have time to question. As he opened the car door, Reno crawled over Rude’s lap and vomited onto the asphalt.

This was not the end Rude had envisioned for them as he held Reno’s ponytail back. When Reno was done, he backed up and laid across the seat, limply reaching up to open the window on his side. 

“Gonna kill her,” he mumbled, panting. 

Rude just fixed his pants and tried to pull his fangs back. He heard Elena and Tseng both getting out of their seats.

“He came right at me!” Elena’s voice was getting squeaky.

“I know,” Tseng assured her. “It wasn’t your fault. I’ll have a word with him.”

“Oh my god, are you two okay?” Elena rushed over to look into the backseat.

Reno held his hand out in a weak thumbs up and Rude just crossed his legs to shield himself from view.

“I’m sorry! It wasn’t my fault!” She almost backed away and then her eyes popped open. “Holy shit, Rude did you throw up?” 

Rude just heaved a sigh. “Yeah.”

“Oh man, oh shoot, I’m sorry, do you need, like, alka seltzer? Does that help nausea?” 

“It’s all good,” Rude told her, hoping the dead tone of his voice would get her to go away.

“Hoo boy,” she pushed her fingers through her hair and walked out of sight, so Rude just shut the door.

Tseng drove them the rest of the way. As they approached their destination, Reno finally sat up from the seat and took a deep breath.

“Elena’s fucked up nose just saved us,” Reno said.

“Yup,” Rude agreed.

Reno burst out laughing, hunched over in his seat. Rude was worried for a second that he’d just lost his mind, but Reno leaned back and shot him a smirk. 

“I’ll finish that later,” he said before lowering the divider and shouting, “Are we there yet?”

Rude just shook his head, smiling at the window. He wasn’t expecting ‘later’ to mean that afternoon on their lunch break in the men’s room on the 6th floor of the brand new Shinra office park. 

They were definitely screwed. 

Rude didn’t have time to get him back, but he did pull Reno’s hair, just so he’d know that Rude always listened.


	2. cut your teeth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it’s just the size difference of it all

After the job out in sector four, Tseng drove Elena straight home so she could sleep off the shaky feeling from the accident and the guys agreed to escort Rufus back. Reno’s throat was still kind of sore, but wasn’t complaining. His head was finally clear. 

It was never not strange to sit in the back of one of Rufus’s cars. The boss always sat facing Reno and Rude who shared the bench opposite him. Even though Rufus was usually preoccupied with his phone screen, he always talked to them.

“You’re adjusting well,” he said to Rude without looking up. They could always tell who he was addressing even without eye contact. Something about the way he spoke.

Rude gave a slight nod. “I’d like to think so.”

“You’ve been sharper,” Rufus said. “I appreciate it.”

Reno could see the pride even in Rude’s neutral expression. He wanted to be good at this job, useful to the pack, but he wasn’t obnoxious about it and Reno was endlessly thankful for that. The last alpha he’d worked with had been up his own ass about who did what and how to pull the most weight. He cared more about impressing the higher ups from Shinra than he did about Tseng and them. 

Rufus’s omega scent was usually well hidden under that thick mako-made cologne that his father made him wear. It turned Rufus into a fake alpha, but Reno could always pick up on his real scent. Weirdly, it made him easier for Reno to be around, and Rude’s own steady, calming presence practically erased Rufus from Reno’s awareness. It was a blessing and a curse. 

After Rufus got back home safely, Reno and Rude were left to their own devices. Standing on the sidewalk, Reno got his phone out. 

“Well, fuck this, I aint taking the subway.”

“Crowds bad for you, right?” Rude guessed.

“That and it smells like piss,” Reno answered, about to arrange a ride home.

“Hey, uh,” Rude cleared his throat and Reno glanced up at him, eyes narrowed. That was a distant kind of throat clear. That kind that preceded awkward questions from the alpha you’ve been sleeping with. “If you’re not too tired, I kind of want to pick your brain.”

“Pick… my brain,” Reno echoed, thumb hovering over the confirm button on the rideshare app.

“My place is only two stops away if you can stomach it,” Rude said. “I can distract you on the train.”

Reno snorted because he was sure that Rude’s version of distraction wasn’t enough, but it was well intentioned at the very least. That was troubling in its own right. Still, Reno was riding a lull from that afternoon thanks to Rude. Maybe it wasn’t a terrible idea to let him ask a question or two. The guy probably deserved a little clarity.

Besides, Reno had a question of his own. 

“I can probably manage two stops,” Reno said, pocketing his phone. “Lead the way.”

The sun was already down as Rude gestured for Reno to follow him. They were quiet as they walked to the nearest train stop. Maybe Rude was smart enough to know that Reno was less focused when he was out in public. So many smells on the air and people walking around. It was constant static that he didn’t have the energy to sort through at that moment. After a full day of work, even with a reprieve, Reno needed to let his mind go into power saving mode.

Color became duller, movement turned to blur and sounds were muffled. He only saw what he absolutely had to as Rude led him into the station. Rude didn’t even ask if Reno had a transit pass, just swiped his own card twice for the both of them. They were in the train by the time Reno focused again. 

He was seated at the end of the car away from the doors and Rude stood holding onto the rung above him. Rude was facing down the car, and Reno could smell without even looking that there were other werewolves congregated a few feet away. Students by the sounds of them. 

With Rude distracted, Reno studied his profile. He tried not to on a regular day, didn’t want to let his brain do the omega thing and start fixating on all his good points, but the earrings were catching Reno’s eye.

Several of them, the only flashy thing about Rude. It suited him, of course. Anything louder than that would probably make Rude uncomfortable. As far as Reno could tell, Rude preferred going unnoticed most of the time. 

Rude’s jaw was getting tense and Reno could smell aggression rising on the air. It was a foul scent that immediately had him on edge, teeth and fingers aching to shift. Rude had offered a distraction and Reno didn’t want to fuck around so he leaned forward and leaned his face against Rude’s arm.

Immediately, the oversaturation of Rude’s scent in his nose had his jaw and hands relaxing. He felt Rude turn toward him, pressing his arm to his side. Reno fit his face in the divot between Rude’s arm and his body and breathed a little easier. 

Until, of course, it shot past comfort and became something else. Shoving all the alpha down and bringing the omega up. Just as he was starting to convince himself that it was okay to start taking deep, selfish breaths, the train slowed and Rude stepped away.

“This way,” he said.

Reno jogged after him, that scent like a beacon in the crowd. He couldn’t even see the other people around them. Rude kept his shoulders squared and everyone just kinda got out of their way. Reno walked right behind him in that perfect empty space and stared at Rude’s neck. His mind was constantly seesawing between _ lick or bite, lick or bite, lick or bite_.

It would be a bad idea to bite him. Alphas didn’t like that. _ They _ were the ones that were supposed to bite.

As they turned down a residential street, Rude glanced back at him and Reno put some space between them. 

“Almost there,” Rude said.

Reno saluted and finally looked around the neighborhood. It was a nicer part of the city, to be expected for any Shinra employee, but Reno was still slightly surprised by how _ cozy _ it seemed. It was definitely meant for families. There were more houses than apartments, which had Reno nervous.

“You… don’t live in one of these, do you?” he asked, pointing.

Rude turned up the path to one of the smaller houses, fishing his keys out of his pocket. “Yeah. This one. Why?”

Reno scratched the back of his neck. Maybe it would be okay. “Nothing. You got roommates?”

“Nah,” Rude said, unlocking the door. “I wouldn’t have invited you if I did.”

He stepped inside and flicked a light on. Reno braced himself and walked into the house. He took two steps into a nice, warm living room, let out a wild laugh and retreated outside to take a deep breath. 

Absolute zero. There was nothing in the air except Rude and it was _ too _ good. Reno felt a prickling along his skin and he had to force his fangs out just to get a grip.

Reno put a few feet between him and the entrance before facing the house again. 

Rude leaned in the doorway, sunglasses off. “No good?”

Reno breathed through his mouth and shook his head. “I don’t even _ have _a clock in there. It just broke. There’s… nothing except you. Holy shit.”

Rude made a noise. “I didn’t think about that. Sorry.”

“Not your fault,” Reno said, rolling his shoulders. It was still clinging to him, ten times more concentrated than he was used to. Rude on every possible thing. He shivered, because for a moment he thought about how mind numbingly good it would be to press his face to Rude’s bed. “I just don’t think I can talk in there.”

Rude’s gaze was always careful, studious. Reno didn’t typically like getting scrutinized but he never really minded when Rude did it. Non-judgemental. If there was appreciation, he kept it under the radar. 

Rude folded his arms and gave the smallest shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t mind. If you need something first.”

Reno tongued at his fang, the little bit of pain not nearly strong enough to get the heat out of his blood. “How do you make a proposition sound respectful? Fuckin’ hate it.”

Rude laughed quietly and the smile really was too much. “Sorry, should I try it more your style?”

“Well now I’m just curious what you think my style is,” Reno responded. It was so easy to fall into this. The bit of outdoor air between them was the only thing keeping his head on straight, but Rude bridged that gap to put his hand on the back of Reno’s arm. 

When he leaned down to speak, it was with lips on Reno’s ear. “I was kinda looking forward to hearing you get loud somewhere without shared walls.”

Reno’s fangs retracted all their own as another shiver passed over him. “Sonofabitch. I don’t sound like that at all.”

Rude caught his gaze. “Told you I’m not a good liar.”

Reno grabbed the edge Rude’s jacket. “I’m gonna make a goddamn mess in your house.”

“I need an excuse to clean,” Rude said, backing away. “Up to you.”

He went back inside and Reno scoffed. “You’re such an asshole.”

“Get over it,” Rude said with the hint of a smile. 

Reno groaned before following him inside. “Handsome piece of shit.”

Rude shut the door, meeting his eyes. “I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

Reno’s mouth was open, but he didn’t even try to stop himself from breathing in the scent of the whole damn house. Rude everywhere, all along his skin, filling his nose and his brain and his eyes. Reno finally looked at him again, watched Rude take a deep breath, saw just the slightest movement of his jaw as he let his fangs come in.

“Bite me,” Reno blurted out.

Rude’s eyes went wide. “What?”

“I’m not going anywhere tomorrow, it’ll heal, just _ put your fuckin’ teeth in me_,” Reno demanded as the shivering got worse. 

Rude walked over to him, unbuttoning Reno’s jacket and pushing his shoulder free in one smooth motion. Feeling Rude sink his fangs into Reno’s skin had him shaking. 

“Holy fuck,” he sighed, blindly reaching out to grab Rude’s waist. He pulled them together. “Keep going.”

Rude did, bit him three more times down shoulder. The last one he really went for it, bit so hard Reno could feel blood dripping down his back, bruises no doubt on their way. All Reno could do was let his jacket and shirt slide to the floor and bring their hips in closer. They were both hard and Reno was panting already as he tried to feel Rude through their clothes. 

“A-anywhere,” Reno managed. “Bite anywhere, e-everywhere, _ god_.”

He tucked his head against Rude’s shoulder and tried to unzip his pants. Rude switched to Reno’s other shoulder and he moaned through another rough bite. He was about to stick his hand down Rude’s underwear when the man grabbed Reno around the hips and lifted him up. 

“This place is more than just a foyer,” Rude said, amused at Reno’s impatience. 

“Bed,” Reno said, heart thudding loudly. “Put me in your bed.”

Rude shook his head as he walked them toward the stairs. “So demanding.”

“Yeah, well,” Reno was probably already red in the face so it didn’t matter much, but he always hated getting his alpha attitude thrown back at him. “Can’t fucking help it, okay? Sorry.”

“I don’t mind,” Rude said and the easy tone of his voice almost made Reno believe it. “Makes it easier when you know what you want.”

Reno wasn’t sure why it annoyed him that Rude always seemed to know exactly what to say. Of course, it didn’t annoy him enough to make it any less overwhelmingly good when they walked into the bedroom. His mouth fell open again and he almost started laughing at the sheer undiluted alpha scent. Like adrenaline delivered directly to his brain. 

Rude set him down, but Reno’s legs didn’t want to hold him up. He stumbled to the bed and Rude was right there, pushing his back to the covers. Rude dragged his teeth over Reno’s chest, not biting this time, just scratching the surface. Reno wanted to complain that it wasn’t enough, but Rude started to make up for it as he pulled the rest of Reno’s clothes from his body. Of course he had to stop teething at Reno to get him naked, but the little pause made it even better when he set his fangs _ and _ his fingers back inside Reno’s body. 

Writhing under Rude’s touch, Reno actually felt a little selfish for wanting more. 

And then Rude had the fucking gall to pull his teeth off Reno’s hips and say, “Tell me what else you want.”

“Stop being so fucking considerate,” Reno huffed. 

“You called me handsome,” Rude said, slowly pushing his fingers deeper. “Just wanted to try being nice.”

“Knock it off,” Reno gripped the sheets above his head, letting his legs go slack with another stilted moan. He realized again that he wanted more of this scent, was so close to more. “Flip me over.”

Rude did, and Reno went limp as he pressed his face to the covers. He was only half aware of the noises he was making, such a base pleasure being fulfilled as he breathed in Rude’s scent and felt him put his fingers back inside. He stopped seeing, stopped caring, just felt Rude wherever he touched and had his head completely fucking full of that scent. High off it, really, shivering and half numb as Rude fingered him into submission.

Reno knew he was in trouble when he considered asking Rude to just fuck him, but he wanted to know if this was enough. He couldn’t remember the last time he went home with someone like this. Losing control in another person’s space was always risky, but Rude was keeping up pretty well so far, even without asking to take it further.

For such a quiet man, Rude was pretty surprising. Reno didn’t know whether he was grateful or angry about it.

Rude bit Reno again, slowly, probably to keep it from getting too bloody. Shallow bites were torture in the best possible way and Rude obviously picked up on that as he kept going down Reno’s arm and then his flank until Rude had the points of his fangs resting on Reno’s ass. 

“Seriously?” Panting, Reno picked his head up just to stare back at him. 

Rude met his look. “You said everywhere.”

“You gonna bite my dick too?” Reno asked.

“It wasn’t off the table,” Rude said. “Was waiting to see how the night went.”

As they stared at each, Rude curled one of his fingers and Reno’s vision went white. 

“_Fuck_.” He dropped his head back down, breath coming faster. “Fine, _ fine_, bite me, _ god_.”

The sound of Rude’s quiet laughter preceded his teeth. Reno just lost it. His whole body shuddered as he came, and Rude growled his approval. It took a minute for Reno to catch his breath, skin buzzing from the sudden change. He felt Rude lean back up over him, saw his hand closing over Reno’s wrist, pressing his thumb right into that scent spot. 

“How you doing?” Rude asked.

Reno wanted to laugh. The hell was he supposed to say? If Rude thought Reno was capable of letting him go without anything, then he was with the wrong guy. Reno’s thoughts were a jumbled mess of that alpha _ let me fuck you _ and that omega _ do whatever you want to me_, so he just asked, “You gonna let me at you?”

“Course,” Rude said, pulling Reno’s ear with his teeth. He leaned his weight onto Reno’s arm, trapping it against the bed as he put his face to the back of Reno’s neck. 

The second Rude’s lips touched Reno’s skin, panic surged and Reno rolled over just to force Rude to back up. Confusion registered on Rude’s face, so Reno just started undoing his pants. 

“Don’t have all year,” Reno said, guiding Rude in closer. 

Rude laughed again, quiet as always. If Reno were an honest man, he’d have said it was a good sound. Instead, he put one of his wrists in Rude’s mouth as he tried to get the rest of his clothes off. Rude took the bait, licking at the scent coming off Reno’s skin like it was sugar, hopefully forgetting about his neck.

That was never a good talk.

With some insistence, he finally wrestled Rude’s clothes off and by the time he’d gotten himself in Rude’s lap, his own appetite was back. Maybe it was something to do with how greedy Rude was with his wrist, but the feel of that tongue was sending Reno right back up the ladder. 

He just took them both up in his free hand, awkward as it was to get a grip, but _ worth it_. Skin to skin like that probably as good as it was gonna get without just letting Rude fuck him. And it _ was _ good. Reno shamelessly watched Rude getting harder, heat rushing right back down his spine. 

Hearing Rude growl was electricity made into sound. Reno glanced up at him, saw his fangs pressed against Reno’s wrist, his eyes shut. When he grabbed Reno’s hip with claws out, Reno gave his own appreciative moan. Rude didn’t let those out easily. It felt like a win. He gripped Reno tightly— not enough to cut but enough to make Reno want to work harder. 

He was really a handsome piece of shit.

Reno held out as long as he could but it was too tempting to keep looking at Rude licking his wrist and watching him tongue at Reno’s skin was pushing him over the edge. Of course, Rude caught him looking, which turned to them staring at each other while Reno jerked them both off and _ that _ was too much. 

Release only cleared his head, though, which meant Rude was quick to follow when Reno was actually focused on him. Part of Reno wanted to keep dragging it out, that alpha part that always wanted some kind of control, but the rest of him was absolutely desperate to feel Rude come on his chest. 

He _ still _ didn’t slice Reno’s hips, buckling forward with it, which was almost disappointing. In the moment after, Rude tipped his head back and sighed. He always seemed to do that, like it was the greatest relief known to man and Reno kinda liked it.

Reno slid off of him and stretched his arms behind his head. 

“You good?” Rude asked, voice even quieter than normal.

“I think this is how you’re supposed to feel after you go to the gym, or you get some nice time with your wolf in,” Reno said. “Like you’re fully awake.”

Rude gave this _ hm _and slid to the end of the bed to grab half his clothes. “You hungry?”

“Always,” Reno said. 

Rude put his hand on Reno’s shoulder as he stood up. “Let me see what I have. Bathroom’s over there.”

He pointed and then ambled out of the room toward the stairs. Reno wondered, as he sat there, how difficult it was for Rude not to offer more. Every alpha usually _ tried_, because every alpha was convinced that omegas wanted you to stay, hold, touch, care. 

Reno was a little impressed, begrudgingly so. But there was no way Rude would be able to keep that up. The more they did this, the more he’d slip. 

For now, though, Reno’s stomach was completely empty so he cleaned some of the mess off his stomach in the bathroom and went downstairs. Rude was in the kitchen, still shirtless, fingers threaded against the back of his head. He gave a _hmph _ as he faced the cabinets. For once, Reno was able to appreciate the broad expanse of his shoulders and back without it whipping him into a frenzy. Rude obviously took care of himself, and it was still a good sight. 

If Reno were a softer man, he’d put his hand on Rude’s back because there was something about him that just kind of felt nice to touch, something good about him casually showing off all that skin, looking comfortable in his own house. 

Rude gave a pointed sniff and turned toward Reno, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “I got fuck all in here, you wanna order something?”

Reno crossed his arm with a laugh. “Yes.”

Rude sat at the table, still staring at his phone. “What do you want?”

Reno sank down across from him, pulling his legs up half on his chair and half on the one beside him. “Don’t care, just feed me.”

Rude shook his head with a smile. “Fine, fine.”

“Why don’t you have any food?” Reno asked. He put his thumb to his fang again. “Not like an alpha.”

Rude set his phone aside and leaned back in his chair. “I’m still settling around here. I haven’t been in the house that long. I keep the lights in the living room turned off because there’s still about ten unpacked boxes from when I moved in.”

Reno gave a laugh, craning around in the chair to see if he could spy them down the hall. “No shit?

“I wasn’t in Midgar until a few months before I met you. Got in touch with Tseng when I got this house, asked him if he had any leads on jobs. That’s when we started talking about his pack.”

“Well, well,” Reno faced him again. “Guess Tseng’s always working.”

“That’s how I’ve always known him,” Rude said. He folded his hands over the table. “So how do you want to do this?”

Reno shrugged. “Do what?”

“Should I just ask you questions until you get sick of me?” Rude asked. 

“Sure,” Reno said. “Take your shot. I’m sure you’ll figure out if you hit too hard.”

Rude’s face did every subtle emotive thing from light amusement to deep contemplation as he looked Reno over. “So did it help? Just now?”

“A bit,” Reno said, head tilting to the side. 

“Your scent died down,” Rude mentioned. “Does that mean you’re clearer?”

“Probably,” Reno said. “Honestly, I don’t smell myself so.”

Rude nodded. “You only go after alphas?”

Reno raised his eyebrow at Rude. “You make it sound like I have intentions. I either have opportunities or I don’t. Doesn’t really matter who.”

“I’m asking your preference,” Rude clarified, undeterred by Reno’s aggression. 

Reno pulled his fangs back and sank lower in his chair. “Alphas work me over better but they screw up with more fanfare.”

Rude laughed, a little more relaxed. “I can see that. We’re not very good at adapting.”

“You are,” Reno said. “Why’s that?”

Rude’s smile faded, but his eyes remained bright. “Tseng told you I can pass for a beta.”

“Yeah,” Reno said. “I don’t smell it.”

Rude looked like he was trying not to gloat, just a touch of smugness to his eyes. “If you have an overactive everything, then I’m the opposite. I usually run so low that people don’t notice.”

“Seriously?” Reno folded his arms. “Are their noses broken?”

“No,” Rude said. “I think you’re just… more susceptible.”

“Alright, I’ll give you that,” Reno replied. 

“My turn,” Rude said, leaning his elbows onto the table. “How bad does this get for you?”

Reno held his stare for several seconds, debating what Rude wanted to hear. With a breath, he switched the placement of his legs around, tucking his left onto his chair and reaching out to set his right foot on the bottom of Rude’s chair. 

“I try not to let it _ get _bad,” Reno started. “The full moon makes it worse. Isolation makes it worse. I’m not allowed to shift on the job, either. Tseng’s orders.”

Rude was doing that thing, watching Reno like he was an actor in a play. Normally that kind of scrutiny made Reno itch, but Rude was somehow doing it with such earnestness that it didn’t catch him wrong.

“Shifting fucks with my head,” Reno said. “Takes the safety off.”

“Which… one do you have?” Rude asked. “Omega or alpha form?”

“Both,” Reno said. “And yes I am tired of that word.”

“Sorry,” Rude said automatically, though he smiled. “Not trying to tire you out. I just want to know what to watch for.”

“You’re not my fuckin’ doctor,” Reno said, eyes narrowed just a bit. “Don’t have to watch me.”

Rude shook his head. “Not trying to fix you. Just want to figure out how to make myself available. I can imagine if it swings too hard in one direction, you won’t want to see me.”

“You’re probably right,” Reno told him. “But I won’t keep it to myself. I’m not trying to hide from the pack. ‘Cept Elena, I guess. But only because she’s the wrong flavor and I don’t want to upset her. And we both know who she‘d rather call.”

“Fair enough.” Rude checked his phone with a smirk. “Thirty minutes until the food gets here.”

Reno stood up from the table, stretching his arms out again. A good kind of sore. “Lemme see your fucked up living room. It’ll make me feel better knowing you’re the least bit messy.”

Rude stood up, shaking his head. He eyed Reno with a bit more curiosity. “How’s your clock?”

Reno allowed himself another selfish scan of Rude’s chest before he said, “Put a fuckin’ shirt on and I’ll make it through dinner.”

He walked away before Rude could say anything, but he heard that quiet laugh all the way down his arms. Goosebumps.

Reno found the lights in Rude’s living room, scoffed at the neat pile of cardboard boxes in the corner that hardly constituted a ‘mess’ and flopped onto the couch. If they were going down this road, he figured he might as well get comfortable. It was a good couch, the kind that’d swallow you whole if you wanted it to. 

Rude came back in a grey t-shirt and sweatpants, glancing down at Reno on the couch. “Make yourself at home.”

Reno closed his eyes and tucked his arms beneath his head. “Thanks.” 

Rude just walked over and pulled Reno a few inches up the couch by his arms in order to clear a space for himself. Later on, Reno wouldn’t remember who’s idea it was to watch TV, but they wound up burning through several episodes of some ridiculous show until Reno’s clock started up again. Rude with his feet up on the coffee table, an easy smile on, his scent an ever present reminder of what Reno liked most in an alpha. _ Strength, but not so much that it’ll break you_.

Right at the front door, Rude said, “Drop by anytime.”

So Reno flipped him off on his way out. “Not your fuckin’ playdate.”

He heard Rude chuckle and it followed him all the way back to his apartment. 

-

The image of Reno in a laughing fit on his couch was burned into Rude’s brain for the next week straight. Seeing him completely at ease was such a change of pace. Relaxed Reno laughed easier, cracked more jokes, actually sat still. They’d both been enjoying that show, slowly getting more and more engrossed, but hearing Reno just lose it at a well timed joke, curling in on himself as he tried to catch his breath was kinda c—

Rude refocused as Elena nearly landed a kick to his side. “Jeez, dude, I almost never get this close to you. Are you asleep?”

With a sigh, Rude rubbed his eyes. “Maybe.”

“You wanna cancel tonight?” she asked. She was bouncing from one foot to another, trying to keep her energy up as they trained. “Maybe get a good night’s sleep before moon time?”

He shook his head. “Nah, I want to finally give you your nice night out.”

She grinned. “What a sweetie. Good. I was honestly surprised Reno said yes. He gets cagey right before the full. But Tseng always says no.” 

They both looked over to where Reno and Tseng were sparring. It was always fascinating to watch the two of them— Tseng with perfect, traditional form up against Reno who had never in his life been given formal instruction, but made up for it with sheer ferocity. They were a good duo to study for techniques, but of course, ‘studying’ gave way to staring at Reno’s ass and remembering the way he’d moaned through Rude’s teeth. A hell of a day. 

All of sudden, Elena and Rude were both zoning out in the direction of Tseng and Reno. They both became aware of it at the same time, Rude glancing at her and Elena turning to Rude with her mouth wide open. 

“Oh my god,” she said. 

Rude huffed at her. “Don’t.”

Then her eyes went wide. “_Oh _ my god!”

“Elena,” Rude said her name with as much authority as he could, lording his height over her. 

She slapped his arm, eyes blindingly bright as she put two and two together. “Rude, oh my _ god!_”

As quickly as he could, Rude tossed Elena over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry and stalked to the locker room.

“Oh my fucking god,” she was laughing as they left the gym and the hearing range of the other guys. Curling around his shoulders, Elena grabbed the front of Rude’s shirt. “I cannot believe you have a crush on Reno.”

“Stop it,” he said with a sigh, setting her down. “I told you that crushes are for children.”

She kicked his shin, not hard enough to really hurt, but hard enough that he glared at her. “You are such a _ boy_. Does he know? Did you tell him?”

“It’s not what you think it is,” he said, looking back toward the door to the gym. “And we can’t talk about this here.”

“Holy shit, you’re a teen,” she said. “You’re have a crush on a boy and you don’t want him to know.”

“It’s not—” Rude pinched his nose and huffed again, trying to reign in the anger. “Listen. It’s _ complicated_.”

She snorted, folding her arms. “What, are you worried about asking him to prom? He’s kind of a slut, Rude. He’ll say yes.”

Rude straightened up, eyes narrowing. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, like, every time he and I go out he can’t stop himself from ogling people?” She put her hands around her mouth to stage whisper, “Especially big alphas like you.”

Rude was still glaring. “Does he… ever… when you two go out, he ever go home with people?”

“Oh, no,” she said. “First of all, he promised he would never abandon me when we were out together. Secondly, he told me that it’s really hard for him to find anyone that can put up with his scent. Said alphas think he’s too strong and omegas think he’s too weak. He looks, but he doesn’t buy.”

Rude narrowed his eyes further. “How much do you know about him?”

Elena leaned forward, glaring right back at him. “A lot. He’s my friend. Which means my information doesn’t come free.”

“What’s your price?” Rude asked.

She touched her chest and gave a small, forced gasp. “I’m offended.”

“I’ll pay for you tonight,” Rude offered. 

“You drive a hard bargain,” she said, sticking her hand out. “We’ll talk after the bill’s settled.”

“Pleasure doing business with you,” Rude said as he shook her hand.

-

The bar was mostly humans, the one around the corner from Reno’s place. There was a game playing across three separate TV’s and the energy was high and loud and happy. Perfect for the three of them to blend into the background.

They all met up after work with enough time to change out of their suits. Elena was in an oversized blue flannel with a thin white scarf and her jeans tucked into her boots. She looked cozy and pleased to be out with the two of them, hooking each of her arms through Reno’s and Rude’s as she guided them to a booth in the back. 

“Look, I know you two both look good in black but you’re making me feel like I’m the runaway daughter of a dignitary out on the town and I don’t love it,” Elena said. “At least Rude is weather appropriate. I like your beanie, by the way.” 

She plucked the edge of Rude’s black hat as they settled in the back of the booth. It was getting cold at night in the city. Reno was still standing and he smirked at Elena in his black short sleeved t-shirt with another insultingly deep v-neck. He put his hands on his hips. “What’s wrong with my clothes?”

She shrugged. “I mean, you look great, the combat boots are killer, but when I get tipsy later and start throwing ice cubes down your cleavage, we’re gonna have problems.”

He smiled. “You know people actually think you’re cute.”

“That’s _ their _ problem,” she said. “Are you getting us beer?”

“Yeah, I’ll be right back,” he said, turning away and weaving toward the bar. Rude followed the sight of his red hair all the way across the room until Elena poked him in the flank and grinned. 

“Crushing so hard,” she said, looking delighted. “You think he’s hot.”

Rude took a very deep breath before meeting her gaze. “You can’t even wait until I’ve started drinking.”

“Just had to get it out of the way. I’ll be good when he’s here, don’t worry,” she said. 

When Reno came back with three glasses in his hands, he thunked down into the booth beside Elena and shook his head. “Listen, I don’t give a shit about sports but my brain goes haywire when it’s on and I can’t stop myself from staring at the stupid ball. Nobody let me near the TV tonight.”

They swore not to. Elena lifted her glass and declared a toast to the upcoming full moon. Mostly, they talked shit about other Shinra employees, wondered time and again how Tseng managed to be the most composed werewolf any of them had ever met, a healthy dose of mercilessly teasing Elena for her crush on their pack leader, and pitying Rufus for his bizarre relationship with his father. 

“Not gonna lie, having your dad force you to pretend to be an alpha feels super bad,” Elena said as she set down her empty glass. “How does Rufus deal?”

“Yeah, fuck that,” Reno said. “Honestly, if Rufus asked us to pretend to kidnap him and move him somewhere else, I’d do it.”

“Tseng would too,” Elena said.

“And if Tseng would, then you would,” Rude said. “Right?”

“Well, I’d _ have _ to,” Elena countered. “I’m his ass_ist_ant. I’d be the one scheduling the kidnapping.”

“Oh fuck, you just reminded me of the Junon trip coming up.” Reno leaned his head back and groaned. “We have to fly out there and stay for three whole damn days.”

“Poor baby,” Elena said, patting Reno’s head. “At least you get to fly again, though. Been a while since you were behind the wheel. Or, well, whatever helicopters use.”

“Wait, hold up,” Rude put his hand on the table. “Are you telling me you have a pilot’s license?”

Reno pointed at him. “I’ll have you know that I’m a very good pilot and I resent your reaction. That’s part of why Tseng recruited me.”

“Yes, you’re very special,” Elena said, holding her empty glass out toward him. “But… I need more of this.”

Reno snatched the glass away from her and took Rude’s too while he was at it. “So sick of you being composed all the time. I’m making you drink a fuckin’ cocktail so you’ll be rowdy like the rest of us.”

In truth, Rude_ was _ feeling slightly buzzed, but the look in Reno’s eyes was exactly the right kind of fake-annoyed that made him want to give in. “If you get something that tastes good I’ll drink it, but no promises on being rowdy.”

Reno stood up, maneuvering his own glass back into his hands and then turned to Rude. “Live a little more.”

He zipped back toward the bar. Rude was trying to discern which direction his scent was tipping, but the bar was so crowded, it was hard to tell. Just _ Reno_, sweet and savory. 

“What a nice boy,” Elena said, sliding right beside Rude and linking their arms together. “I worry, though.”

Rude looked down at her. “About what?”

“Sometimes I think he’s purposely keeping everyone at arm’s length because he finds himself to be an unsuitable friend or whatever, and other times I think he’s just chaotic and I’m thinking too hard.” 

Rude slipped his arm out from under hers so he could put it around her shoulders instead. “Might take a while to crack that one.”

She started giggling, tucking her face into Rude’s chest. “You’re so comfy.”

He shook his head, trying not to smile. When Reno came back, he glared at them as he set their glasses down. “How fucking dare you. I’m gone for one minute and the cuddling starts up. Swear to god.”

Elena grabbed Reno’s arm as he sat down again. “Reno, Reno, he’s so comfortable. Have you been in here?” She gestured at Rude.

“No, Elena, I have not been in Rude’s tits,” Reno said. “My loss, I guess.”

He leaned back and put one of his arms along the back of the booth. 

“Wait, hold still,” Elena said, reaching over to gingerly arrange Reno’s ponytail so that it draped over his chest. “There’s my model.”

Reno stuck his tongue out at her. “Drink your beer and put your face back in Rude’s chest. Mine’s not nearly as comfortable.”

“Yeah, because you’re this thin,” she said, holding up her pinky finger. 

“You are too,” he said with a glare. 

She turned back to Rude. “That’s why you’re so big and strong, right? You have to be strong enough for both of us.”

“That’s correct,” Rude said. “It’s in my contract.” 

“Will you carry us both home?” Elena asked, hands clasped.

“Sure thing, Miss Daughter Of A Dignitary,” he replied. 

Reno pushed a full glass toward Rude. “Not until you drink that.”

Rude eyed the reddish concoction. “What’d you put in it?”

“My spit,” Reno said. “Fucking drink it.”

Rude took the glass as Elena started complaining about how gross that was. The first taste was straight sugar and Rude almost put it back down but the more he drank, the more it started tasting like something else. Alcohol, yes, but everything else was a good balance of sugary and kind of smokey and by the time he realized he was going to drink this entire glass in one go, it hit him that it tasted like Reno’s scent. 

Rude set the now-empty glass down to Reno and Elena staring at him. “What was that?” He asked.

Reno looked mildly impressed. “I dunno, I told just them to get you drunk.”

Rude just smiled. “Well.”

The rest of the night became a rush of movement and color and laughing like hyenas and the simmering scent under Reno’s skin. It was midnight by the time they decided that they should sleep, 12:30 by the time Rude was carrying Elena above his head on their way to Reno’s building just to show off, 12:45 when they were all in the elevator up to Reno’s apartment and Reno said, “Well I fucking guess you’re both staying here. Can’t send drunken fools out on their own.”

Rude had Elena cradled in his arms. “She’s asleep.”

Reno turned to look at her, reached out like he couldn’t decide if he was going to strangle her or not and then pulled her bunched up scarf away from her mouth. “Why do I love you?” 

Rude snickered and Reno shot him a bleary eyed glare. “Don’t start.”

Rude just shook his head. Reno let them inside and walked down the hall, pointing to an empty bedroom. “Throw her in there.”

Rude set her on top of the neatly made bed and shuffled back out into the hall. Reno was out of sight, but Rude smelled him at the end of the apartment. 

“In here,” Reno called. 

Rude went after him, a drunken thrill down his spine as he walked into Reno’s bedroom. Anyone else and this might mean something, but that night all it meant was even more of Reno’s scent, which was good enough.

There was a light on in another bathroom. Rude heard Reno shuffling around, so he just stood in the doorway, looking over the space. God it smelled good. Rude was drawn to the bed like an oasis in the desert, taking a few steps toward it. 

Reno reemerged in nothing but a pair of flimsy looking fabric pants and Rude startled but Reno didn’t seem to notice. “You gotta sit. Do something for me.”

Rude took the edge of the bed, nothing else in the room to sit on. Reno came to stand in front of him and there was absolutely a red tint to Reno’s face and chest, though that could have just been the alcohol.

“I drank too much,” Reno said. “I got no grip strength. You gotta do something for me.”

Rude just nodded without understanding what the hell they were talking about. 

Reno was standing there at a tilt, like gravity was about to kick his ass. Rude pulled on his arm to get him to sit down and he sank heavily onto the bed beside him, picking up his thought like he hadn’t stopped at all. 

“It’s the fuckin’ moon,” he said. “Just, don’t make it weird. Tseng’s not here so.”

That had Rude sobering up a little. “What do you need?”

Reno cleared his throat before he pulled his ponytail aside and leaned his head forward. “Put your hand on my neck.”

Rude exhaled, staring at the pale skin that Reno never let him touch. Every muscle in his body wanted to get closer and as he fought to do what was asked of him, his fangs pushed in without warning. But he did manage to set his hand on the back of Reno’s neck and nothing more. Reno adjusted Rude’s fingers, placing them over specific spots in his skin. 

“Just… press a little,” Reno said. 

Rude held his breath as he slowly increased the pressure on Reno’s neck until he heard Reno sigh, saw his shoulders untense and his head droop further. 

“Sorry,” Reno mumbled. “‘Bout the scent.”

_ Alpha _pouring off him in waves. As Rude held him there, it was like he was letting the steam out of Reno’s body. It hit him that Reno expected Rude to dislike his alpha scent, as if Rude only liked him half the time. As if the two didn’t go well together. As if Rude was even remotely capable of separating those two parts of Reno. 

Rude squeezed a little harder by accident, but Reno just sighed again, leaning his arm heavily against his leg like he could hardly keep himself upright. 

Anyone else and Rude would get closer, maybe put a hand on Reno’s hip, lean his chest to Reno’s back and hope that body heat was a clear enough way to ask if he wanted more. Anyone goddamn else and Rude wouldn’t think twice about leaning Reno’s head back and licking that scent right off his neck so that he wouldn’t have any questions left as to whether or not Rude liked it.

But not with Reno, not right now, not yet. Rude just waited until Reno sat up a little, nodding at him. Rude pulled his hand away and Reno flopped back onto the bed. 

“Gonna pass out now,” he muttered. “Just… sleep wherever. Here’s fine.”

Sober Rude would have walked away and figured it out, but inebriated Rude took his hat and sweater and shirt off and laid across the left half of Reno’s bed. It wasn’t even optimism about Reno curled up like a cat at his feet. It was just the simple pleasure of putting his face to Reno’s pillow.

Out like a light.

-

Waking up with a mind numbing headache left Rude with a regret or two, but seeing Reno passed out, belly up, almost made up for it. Rude shambled like a zombie into the kitchen so he could chug some water and get the boozy taste out of his mouth. As he stood there drinking down his second glass, Elena shuffled out of the guest room.

“Hey there,” she said, voice froggy, but with a smile on her face. 

She went right to the fridge and started pulling things out, eggs and bacon.

“Hey,” Rude said, moving out of her way. “You… making yourself food?”

“It wakes him up,” she said, getting out two frying pans like she’d done this a thousand times. “Bacon would get Reno out of coma, right hand to god.”

He smiled. “You want some help?”

“Yeah,” she said, pointing at a cabinet. “Can you reach the glass bowl up there?”

Rude flipped open the cabinet. “You know there’s more to me than just being tall.”

Elena laughed. “I know. But the tall thing is just so nice. Do you know how many times Reno has had to lift me up so I could grab something like a pair of living tongs?”

Rude stared at her as he passed over the bowl she wanted. She took it, breathing a sigh. “Thank god Tseng found you.”

As they made breakfast, Elena gave Rude a sly smile. “Not to be nosy but… did you sleep on the couch? Or somewhere else?”

“I passed out the second I shut my eyes last night,” Rude told her. “Don’t get excited.”

Not technically a lie, but not the entire truth either. Elena shrugged. “Just curious is all.”

Right on cue, when the bacon started crackling, Reno came padding down the hall. He looked at the two of them with red stained eyes and sniffed once. “Fuck.”

“Sit down,” Elena said. 

Reno did, letting his forehead rest on the counter top. “Fuck.”

“Aspirin?” she asked.

Reno held up three of his fingers. Elena shook her head and turned to Rude. “Do you mind grabbing the bottle out of the bathroom? It’s behind the mirror.”

“Is it also too high up for you?” Rude asked. 

She pointed her actual tongs at him. “I _ will _ use these on you.”

He got the pills for Reno, leaving them on the counter by his face, and Elena got water. 

“Thanks for letting me stay here,” she said cheerily.

Reno grumbled into his arm. 

“Love you too,” she said, ruffling his hair.

Reno gave a wolfish groan and turned his head a little. Elena silently gestured with her other hand for Rude to watch as she scratched behind Reno’s ear. Reno huffed, stretching his arms out, claws protruding and retracting. There was a half smile on his face. Rude looked away, knowing that only Elena was allowed to do that. Someone like Reno shouldn’t be _ cute _ for anyone other than Elena.

They made it through breakfast before Reno kicked Rude out. Elena almost scolded him, but they played it off like Rude had somewhere to be. Rude had been worried that Reno was going to be mad at him for having put him in submission the night before, but he didn’t seem the least bit perturbed. 

It was only something that he’d needed— had nothing to do with Rude. 

There was also the thought that Reno didn’t even remember it happening.

Somehow that was worse.

When Tseng extended the invite to Rude to spend the full moon in the pack house, he politely declined. Reno wouldn’t be there, never spent it with them, but Rude wanted to be alone that night. Going to the pack house and having a nice time with only three out of four of them would have felt wrong and besides, shifting brought his emotions up to ten, and he could already tell he was going to be frustrated by Reno’s absence. 

So he stayed home, shifted into his wolf, and moped on the couch through the bulk of the full. He kept fighting off the urge to howl because he didn’t want to piss off the neighbors. They’d been suspicious enough when a single werewolf moved in. The last thing he needed was a noise complaint. Padding around the house and whining wasn’t helping at all, though. 

Next time he’d go to the pack house. Alone and sad was far worse than being with everyone except the one wolf he wanted to see. Curled up over the spot where Reno had been in a laughing fit and sighing like a fool.

Elena could never know about this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just sadly bumps the chapter count up, i’m so sorry  
@oodleswrites  
reno with sharp teefies just being a little shit, ya know?


	3. habit forming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> beach episode?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry I just need to write Rufus as maximum softboy when I can. I know he’s not really like that. I know he’s actually just an evil CEO. please indulge my vices. I just love Tseng too much.

As the Junon trip approached, Reno was visibly tightening like a wind-up toy. The stress was in every muscle. It showed when they trained, when they worked, when they went home. All three of them kept asking if they could help him, and he kept saying no._ It’s not their problem. _

When Reno accidentally hit Rude so hard he drew blood on the gym floor, Rude grabbed him by the front of his shirt and nearly lifted him off the ground. 

“Shit, sorry,” Reno spoke in a breath, eyes on Rude’s bloodied lip. 

“I’m sick of this,” Rude told him, eyes narrowed. “Come over tonight.”

“Wh-what?” Reno’s brows furrowed, completely caught off guard by the command.

Rude leaned in closer to lower his voice. “The trip’s in two days. I’m taking this out of you.”

He let go of Reno and stalked off toward the locker room, wiping blood onto the back of his hand. Reno was quiet the rest of the day, only speaking when spoken to, though his leg was bouncing up and down at lightspeed. They didn’t say goodbye to each other at the end of the shift either, just went their separate ways while Reno fidgeted and tried to decide if he should actually show up to Rude’s or not. He’d looked angry at Reno for the first time ever. It didn’t sit well, not at all.

Reno went to the pack house with Elena and Tseng first, hoping that being around them would do anything at all for him, but it only made Rude’s absence even more stark. When Elena asked Reno if he needed a ride home, he asked her to take him to Rude’s instead, lying about him forgetting something, which Elena narrowed her eyes at but didn’t say anything to.

He felt like a kicked puppy knocking on Rude’s door. Thank god he’d remembered the way there. Rude didn’t look angry to see him though. He actually looked relieved, which was also throwing Reno off. Was he mad or not?

Stepping into the house brought it all right back to the surface and he shivered as Rude shut the door behind him— utterly surrounded by that scent again.

“Why do you want me here?” Reno asked him right away.

Rude’s expression went dead and he shook his head. “How many times do I have to say it?”

Reno was well aware that he probably looked like an animal with its leg caught in a trap as he looked up at Rude.

Rude folded his arms. “Am I allowed to tell you that you look good?”

“What?” Reno actually leaned toward him, because he was positive he was mishearing. “Sorry?”

“You look good,” Rude said again. “Even right now when you’re stressed out to hell. I appreciate that you seem to think I’m some white-knight type of guy that’s only in it to make you feel better, but I’m not.”

Reno felt completely out of his depth, out of his field, and out of his mind as Rude grabbed him by the hips and backed him up until Reno was pinned against the door with one of Rude’s thighs pressing between his legs and god if it didn’t feel like exactly the touch he wanted.

Rude spoke with his mouth against Reno’s temple. “I’m not nice, Reno. Does that make it easier for you? Knowing I’ve been thinking about fucking you for weeks? It’s very selfish, I promise. Let’s not pretend I’m only in this for you.”

Reno swallowed through all kinds of panic as he felt Rude reach up and pull on his hair, forcing his head back.

“So what?” Reno asked, on the verge of manic laughter. “We’re both just assholes, then?”

“Yep,” Rude said, sliding his fingers up under Reno’s shirt just to hold his waist skin to skin. “And I’m tired of waiting on you.”

Rude was brushing his lips down Reno’s face, pressing his thigh in closer. Reno’s felt his pulse thrashing under his skin. This was gonna be bad, he knew it, it always was. As much as he wanted to stop it, he knew it was better for Rude to find out the hard way. Don’t play coy just to make him think Reno was leading him on. Still, it felt a little like panic as Rude drew closer to his neck.

Maybe sensing Reno’s hesitation, Rude pulled harder on his ponytail. Instinctively, Reno grabbed Rude’s shirt at his sides, his own claws out. He didn’t even feel it. Damn. Breath coming faster, Rude was so close and Reno’s thoughts were just _ fuck, fuck, fuck, don’t _ until the moment Rude had his tongue on Reno’s throat. Reno grit his teeth through it, waiting for the recoil. Because it always happened. Alphas didn’t connect like this. Their scents were supposed to repel each other. Every goddamn time he let one of them do this, they regretted it only half as much as Reno did.

There was a heart stopping moment of stillness. It wasn’t silent because Reno was practically panting through the anxiety. There was going to be a _ huh _ or an _ oh _ or a _ not what I expected _ at any moment and then he could—

Rude hauled Reno up off the floor. It happened so fast and he did it so easily it nearly gave Reno whiplash. He was being carried to the table, set down on the hardwood. Still panting, wild eyed, but Rude just pulled his hair again and dragged his tongue back over Reno’s neck.

“What are— _ ah._” Reno’s entire body went slack as Rude closed his mouth right over the scent spot in Reno’s neck. The feeling of such direct contact on that place that no one ever touched was shutting off all the toxic parts of his brain. It was so much swifter and better than the manipulation that Tseng taught him. 

It felt like he was melting. Rude was holding Reno up at that point, still mouthing at Reno’s neck. Feeling just the hint of fangs had Reno shivering, nearly laughing, far past sanity or any hope of coming down from this. 

They were gonna be here a while.

When feeling came back into his legs, Reno hooked them around Rude’s middle and wrapped his arms around his face, pushing him in more. It was good enough to shelve the obvious question of _ how the hell can you stand this _ and he moved right past that to wanting more. Rude scraped his teeth along Reno’s skin and that time Reno _ did _ laugh. 

Rude pulled back just to stare Reno down and he really did look like he was going to bite Reno’s neck if he said the wrong thing. Fucking electric. 

“You just refuse to be predictable, huh?” Reno said, hearing his own hollowed out voice like someone else was talking.

Rude gave him half a smile. “I’m calling the shots tonight.”

Reno’s eyes went wide. “What?”

“Glad you agree,” Rude finished, backing up. “You owe me for the split lip.”

Reno huffed. He wasn’t wrong. 

“Go upstairs,” Rude said, fully separating from him. “I’ll meet you in a second.”

“Seriously?” Reno asked. 

Rude just walked away from him toward the living room. Given the space, Reno tried to stand up and felt his legs turn to jelly the second his feet hit the floor. Gripping the edge of the table to keep himself upright, he touched his own neck. It didn’t feel quite real, and yet, he was definitely going to have a bruise the next day if Rude kept this up. 

Then again, maybe Reno didn’t mind. Maybe it was such a goddamn good sensation that Reno felt in the pit of his stomach that he wasn’t above begging for more of it. 

Some alpha he was. 

As soon as he could, he walked up the stairs. There was still a part of him that rebelled against the idea of letting Rude control everything, which was why he turned around at the top of the steps and yelled, “I don’t have all fucking night!”

And when Rude rounded the corner and calmly replied, “Yeah, actually, you do.” Reno bared his teeth because it was all he could do not to let on how painfully turned on he was. 

“Un-fucking-believable,” he said as Rude ascended the stairs. “You invite me over just to make me wait?”

When their faces were level, Rude just said, “Yeah. You can stop pretending you don’t like it.”

Reno made a face like he’d been slapped, because that’s what it felt like. Even worse when Rude smirked at him because he obviously knew Reno was sweating. 

“You really expe—”

Rude didn’t let him finish, just grabbed him around the middle and tossed Reno over his shoulder like it was nothing. Reno grappled for purchase, trying to prop himself up, but just as soon as he had his bearings again, Rude flipped him onto the bed. 

“Watch it,” Reno snapped, the room spinning around him. 

When his vision settled, Rude had pulled himself up over Reno, staring down at him on hands and knees with that achingly calm expression. Meanwhile, Reno was lying on his back at the end of his rope. He was used to being in control, _ needed _ it to get what he wanted from other alphas, because none of them knew what to do with someone like him.

Rude was dangerously close to figuring it out and Reno wanted it so fucking badly, but he still couldn’t fight off that knee jerk reaction to another alpha boxing him in. 

“What, are you gonna paint me?” Reno taunted as Rude continued to stare.

Rude had a smile on as he wrenched open the button on Reno’s pants. “Fuck, man, do you ever stop talking?”

“Nope,” Reno said, arching his back as Rude teased him with just his fingertips. 

“S’alright,” Rude said, pulling his hand away to finish undressing Reno. “I think I know why you do it.”

“Oh, you got me all figured out, huh?” Reno was glaring even as he helped Rude get their clothes off. Or, he tried, but when he started in on Rude’s shirt, Rude snatched his wrist away and held it down to the sheets with all of his weight.

“Yeah. I get it now,” Rude said, watching him with that careful gaze. 

For once, Reno said nothing, just watched Rude take his other wrist and pin it above Reno’s head. He kept waiting for the explanation, but Rude stayed quiet and all Reno could hear was his own unsteady breathing. He felt naked down to the bone as Rude pinned both of Reno’s arms with one of his hands. Rude’s silence was heavier than his body, but Reno still didn’t speak. He restrained himself, watching and waiting to see if this would be worth it.

Rude put his fingertips right over that soft spot on Reno’s inner thigh that he couldn’t stop himself from reacting to. Uncontrollably shivering as Rude drew circles on his skin. Such a light touch but he felt it straight through his whole body, right down to the wolf.

Rude laughed again, but Reno just shut his eyes. Those pins and needles started up, the ones that warned him that he was on the edge of shifting. He was trying to keep it down, but Rude started scratching with his claws hard enough to leave marks and that was too much. Reno exhaled, felt the muscles in his arms straining against Rude’s weight, and the need only sharpened. The alpha in him wanted control so badly, hated to be held down like this, but the other part of him could hardly stand how good it felt. They were so close to one or the other.

“Just—“

Before he could even think about finishing that thought, Rude bit Reno’s lip. The shock of pain had Reno swallowing his voice as Rude just shook his head. 

“Not a word,” Rude said. “Not until I say so. I’ll gag you if I have to, don’t think I won’t.” He inspected the drop of blood welling up from the bite, adding quietly, “But maybe you want that.”

He licked the blood off Reno’s lip and it was a laughable approximation of a kiss but it felt the same to him. When Rude dropped his mouth to Reno’s throat, Reno just leaned his head back to give him more room. The more Rude touched his neck, the weaker Reno got. The pins and needles of the shift were morphing away from that alpha fight or flight and into something else entirely.

_ Why is it so good? _ He wanted to ask, but he didn’t want Rude to stop. His hands were going numb from Rude pressing into his wrists and his legs were fucking liquid from the way Rude kept stroking that damn spot on his thigh. He was barely aware of his hips moving, seeking some kind of connection, at his wits end as he waited for something to snap. 

Rude finally let Reno’s arms go just so he could grab his hair instead. Face buried in Reno’s neck, he sighed.

“You taste good.”

And Reno’s _ entire body _ snapped. The need that took hold of him was vicious. His fangs retracted so sharply he felt a jolt through his gums and he moaned through another near-bite from Rude at his neck. Reno’s hands immediately found Rude’s waist, desperately pulling him in closer, legs wrapping around his middle. It was everything he could do not to say _ please_.

His wolf ears shifting up through his hair, though, that may as well have been begging. 

Rude picked his head up to look Reno over and had the decency not to even smirk at the sight of that omega trait. Reno was white-hot from the sudden shift and the embarrassment of revealing this and the absolutely crushing need to feel Rude inside of him. 

“You still look good,” Rude said. 

“Fuck you,” Reno’s voice was almost inaudible.

Rude rose up to his knees, smiling again. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll let that one slide.” He pulled his shirt off and Reno whined at the sight of his bare chest, sitting up on his elbows like he was magnetized to Rude. He reached out to put his hand on Rude’s waist. He was starting to become obsessed with the solid feel of Rude’s body and the look of his own pale skin against Rude’s darker shade.

This time, Rude let Reno help him undress, let him press his face to Rude’s chest just to feel a little more of that muscle. But only for a moment before he was shoving Reno back down onto the bed, leaning over top of him chest to chest. Reno was almost gone, everything in his body wanting to let this go as far as possible, but his last little bit of logic kicked in when he felt Rude pushing his thighs apart.

“W-wait.” He grabbed Rude’s shoulder, weak as he was. “No knot.”

Rude made a noise, taking Reno’s hand and pressing his mouth to Reno’s wrist. “You don’t want it?” 

Reno shivered at his tongue again, eyes sliding shut. “Fucking _ course _I want it. But I can’t right now. Don’t listen to me if I ask for it.”

“Fine,” Rude said, a sly smile on his lips. “Just don’t beg too much or I won’t remember.”

And there they were. No more excuses, no more lines to give. The second Rude started to slide himself inside of Reno, he forgot his vow of silence. Throwing his head back, cursing incoherently, grabbing at Rude’s hips to pull him in as deep as he could. Rude bottomed out and Reno gave a wild laugh.

“Thank fucking god,” he sighed. 

In Reno’s experience, an alpha trying to keep from knotting someone would go slower, more carefully. Then again, Reno didn’t let them try very often, and hardly any of them could make that work with heat scent on the air, but Rude was full of surprises. Like hearing the phrase _ no knot _and deciding to fuck Reno as hard and as fast as he could. 

Reno had no time to adjust or question, just braced himself against the bed and let Rude work. Just like when he let his brain shut off, everything was becoming duller, except what Rude kept alive. Everything that wasn’t _ them _ faded from his awareness until he was pretty sure the only parts of him that existed were the ones touching Rude. 

He swore he could feel how close Rude was to coming, which of course meant he would be on that edge of keeping the knot back. The thought of it in the moment was mind numbing and there was a chance he’d started laughing again but he wasn’t entirely sure. Catching a glimpse of Rude’s face while he fucked Reno— fangs out, eyes shut, muscles taut— had him over the goddamn moon. 

His immediate and only thought was to offer every inch of himself up. Reel him in, be as vulnerable as possible, give Rude whatever the hell he wanted. It was a such an instant high. He reached above his head to grab the sheets, tilting his hips to meet Rude better. Hearing Rude growl through the next thrust set Reno off with a yelp. But even that moment of bliss didn’t matter to his wolf brain. He wouldn’t be satisfied until Rude was done. 

The act alone was still so good, though. He hadn’t ever been like this before— the alpha nearly gone from his mind while someone worked him over. It was twice as satisfying to bend himself in half for Rude, feel Rude’s hands on him, claws sinking in as he got closer. Reno came again, body shaking as he thought about Rude knotting him. That was step one toward it, his own appetite ramping up. He was right at the edge of asking, wanted it so fucking bad, but then Rude scratched down Reno’s hips, pulling him in as he gave this gasping sigh. 

No knot. Safe. Reno let himself go limp and focused on breathing normally again. As everything settled around them, color and sound returning to Reno in a haze, Rude put a few inches between them and laid down beside Reno, arm behind his head. 

“Been a while since I had to do that,” he muttered. 

Reno glanced over at him. “Is it hard for you not to go through with it?”

Rude gave a tired laugh. “‘Course it is. But you asked and I’m not a dick so. It was still good, don’t worry.”

Reno was staring at Rude’s little smile so he pulled himself upright. Stretching his arms up above his head was deeply satisfying, but an instant reminder of his damn ears. The fur brushed against his skin and he startled.

“Shit,” he said, pulling at the right one and frowning. “Can’t remember the last time this happened.”

“Sorry,” Rude said and Reno turned to glare at him.

“You don’t _ look _ sorry,” he said. Rude was still smiling and Reno rolled his eyes. “Fuck off with that.”

“It’s kinda—“

Reno whirled back around to face him with claws out. “Do not call me cute you prick. Get these offa me.”

Rude held his gaze, smiling wider. “Nice to see you relax. Is what I was going to say. Gimme your wrist if you’re so desperate.”

Reno pulled his claws back and begrudgingly held his hand out with a, “Sorry.”

Rude took Reno’s wrist and pressed his thumb right into the scent spot, rubbing circles into it. Reno shivered and let his shoulders drop. With all the alpha gone and the omega running high, he knew it would take a while to come down on his own. Working it out like this was the fastest way to fix it.

“Is your rule an all-the-time thing or just tonight?” Rude asked. “I didn’t want to press you while we were in it.”

Reno debated answering him and figured it was owed at this point. “I can’t do knots. I get restless. The alpha inevitably kicks back up and I stop liking it.”

“Hm,” was all Rude said. 

Reno let his eyes close as Rude kept massaging his wrist. It was nice, like he’d done this exact same thing before. 

“You do this for someone else?” Reno asked, peeking at Rude with one eye.

Rude shook his head. “Just figured it was the same as your neck.”

Reno shut his eyes again. The silence was peaceful for once, and he felt the imbalance correcting itself as Rude kept working that spot. 

“It’s not just me,” Reno said. “I do get restless, but there almost always comes a point when the other person… can’t stand my scent anymore.”

Rude stayed quiet and Reno stayed blind, until he felt fingers on his neck. His eyes shot open, but he reminded himself he didn’t need to fight as Rude touched his skin.

“Sorry about the marks,” Rude said. “May not heal up before work tomorrow.”

Reno shrugged. “Rufus’d want me to button my shirt for the send off anyway. Since the big man himself will be there.”

Rude started laughing. “Is this your once-a-year for wearing an actual suit?”

Reno had to laugh too. “I only have to be regulation friendly when the President’s around. Boss’s orders.”

“Can’t believe you get special allowances for outfit violations,” Rude replied. “I should be mad.”

Reno didn’t have the energy to snipe back at him, just breathed through the feeling of his body hitting zero. When was the last time he’d been this relaxed? No pull in either direction, just _ calm _ through every limb. He didn’t even mind the ears as his eyes started to slide shut.

“You gonna pass out?” Rude asked, genuine concern for a moment as he touched Reno’s drooping body.

Reno blinked, catching himself. “Maybe.”

“Lay down,” Rude said, voice firm, and it was probably the fact that it was more command than coddle that Reno actually listened to him. “You need anything?”

Reno melted onto the bed, face to the pillow. “Nah.”

“You say that,” Rude started. “But I will make you eat something by the end of the night.”

Reno blindly reached out to shove at Rude’s body. “Sleep now. Food later.”

“Yeah, alright,” he heard before settling down. 

-

Rude was pacing the house while Reno slept. It was annoying not being able to go be with him. Not that he _ couldn’t _ but he didn’t want to do the wrong thing. If he went back to bed now, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to resist the urge to do something soft and Reno would not appreciate that. He was not a cuddler, that much was clear. It wasn’t that Rude _ was _ one, but watching someone sleeping off rough sex in his bed brought something out in him.

Every time he thought maybe he’d been doing too much, Reno had met him, just as wild as he had been that first time. Rude could see that Reno in his purest omega state was the kind to want and want even if it wound up hurting him. Thankfully, it hadn’t hurt him, but Rude certainly hadn’t let himself go like that with anyone else.

So, of fucking course he wanted to go back to bed and touch Reno’s hair. It wasn’t complicated, but he wasn’t about to risk looking too sentimental right now. Every time he walked by the stairs, though, he looked up, caught sight of the door to his room, the softest hint of Reno’s scent on the air, and grumbled. 

He couldn’t manage it as a human, so after an hour of pacing and doing the dishes he’d been putting off and opening a couple of the boxes in the living room, he shifted. In his wolf, the scent was only stronger. He padded up the stairs, slinking back into his room and getting onto the bed as slowly as possible. Reno didn’t move at all, still sleeping deeply with his face mashed into a pillow. 

Rude laid at the end of the bed, his back paws hanging off the edge just to avoid getting too close. 

It was good enough just to be in the room with him. He didn’t need to sleep yet, was feeling far too alive after everything else, so he just laid there with his eyes closed. It must have been another hour before Reno slid his foot down to press against Rude’s back.

“You know you don’t have to protect me, right?” Reno said.

Rude rolled over to face him and kept his chin against the bed. He knew better than to get riled up over it. Reno rolled his eyes and searched around for some clothes. 

“Stop looking at me like that,” he said, pulling his pants back on. His ears had shifted back to human. “Those damn eyes of yours.”

Rude sighed, still not lifting his head. Reno caught his gaze, narrowed his eyes and groaned. “Fine.”

He slid down the bed smoothed his hands over Rude’s cheeks, up over his face and ears.

“Can’t believe you got me petting you.” Reno shook his head, but he didn’t stop, scratching down the wolf’s chest. “You just _ had _ to be soft, huh?”

This was normal, of course, which made it even nicer that Reno was indulging such a _ bonded _ instinct. Shifting and watching out for you partner was an old school alpha tradition. Reno was really scratching like he meant it, too. He was studying Rude and feeling around his front legs.

“Come on, where’s your spot?” He asked. “Not fair of you to have all the power.”

Had he been human, Rude would have laughed at that. As if Rude had any power over Reno. Still, he didn’t mind telling. He bent back, pressing his snout to the base of his tail and huffing.

“Thank you,” Reno said, leaning over him to get right at it. “I appreciate your honesty.”

As soon as Reno scratched at that spot, Rude grumbled, half stretching his body before his back leg started kicking uncontrollably. Waves of pleasant feelings crashed over him and his brain went to static as Reno laughed.

“Serves you right,” Reno said, letting up. He went back to Rude’s face, lifting the wolf’s head up off of the bed and scratching his neck. “You’re lucky I can’t use my claws or else you’d be screwed.”

Rude made noise, meeting Reno’s gaze, hoping to convey his question. _ Can’t? _

Reno shrugged. “I got nothing in me.” He was smiling. “Feels nice.”

Rude huffed louder and inched over the bed to press his head to Reno’s chest. Shifting might have been a bad idea, but he’d rather admit to wanting this as a wolf than a human.

“God damn you’re needy like this,” Reno teased, but he pet Rude all the same. “Every alpha wants to get their damn ears scratched.” 

Rude couldn’t say what he was thinking which was _ does that mean you want it too? _ He just laid his head on Reno’s legs and waited for him to get bored of doing this. It took a surprisingly long time, considering all Reno’s talk of restlessness. It was the sound of his stomach howling that did it.

Rude made him dinner, as promised, with Reno perched on his counter like some kind of bird of paradise. 

“I see you have food now,” Reno commented, nudging open the fridge with his foot to peek inside.

“Opening my fridge without asking.” Rude shook his head. “Knew you were trouble.”

Reno closed the door, a beer in his hand that hadn’t previously been there. He shook it at Rude with a smile. “Eh?”

“Knock yourself out,” Rude told him as he pulled open the drawer he was pretty sure had the bottle opener.

Reno gave a triumphant laugh as he popped the top off and took a long drink. Rude’s gaze was drawn to him sitting there, still shirtless, relaxed as he’d ever been. He caught a glimpse of the marks on his hips and forced his eyes back up. Maybe it was Reno’s resistance to all tradition that made this so satisfying, but Rude was enthralled by the sight of him so comfortable. 

“What?” Reno asked as he set the bottle down. “You’re staring.”

Rude looked back at the pasta that was steadily boiling. “Your scent’s barely there.”

“Yeah, well,” Reno still looked mildly pleased at this. “You hit all the good points. Guess I owe you for that.”

Rude reached over and took the bottle out of his hand. “You don’t need to owe me.” He took a swig, checked the label, and gave it back to Reno. “This tastes like shit.”

“It’s in _ your _ fridge,” Reno said.

“Elena gave it to me,” Rude said. 

“Oh, son of a bitch,” Reno looked at the bottle. “She’s been trying to pawn this off on someone for months. I said no to this fucking six pack a season ago and now I’m drinking it.”

“I think that’s what they call fate,” Rude said, shutting the burner off and searching for the strainer under the sink.

“Fate’s gonna give me food poisoning,” Reno said.

-

It was nearly midnight by the time they were done eating. Reno declared that because Rude technically invited him over, it was Rude’s responsibility to either call Reno a car or let him stay over. Obviously, Rude said Reno could just take the bed and stop whining. 

The couch was _ just _ big enough for Rude to sprawl across and he had just closed his eyes and resigned himself to a stiff back when Reno came stomping down the stairs and turned the light on in the living room and snapped, “Motherfucker, take your own bed.”

Rude sat up, sniffed and said, “Okay.” 

So they shared the bed and it was probably the best Rude had slept in months. He made sure not to touch Reno, but the scent was there and it was good and Reno yawned like a wolf in his sleep.

The rest of the wait to the Junon trip went much smoother. Reno’s scent wasn’t back to full strength until they were actually there in the hotel with Rufus. As he’d promised, Reno was a pretty good pilot, claiming that the complexity of the task let him shut everything out. Rude didn’t really believe him until he saw Reno sitting at the controls of a helicopter with a smile on his face, completely focused. 

Shinra had an office building, a factory and a hotel as part of their Junon subsidiary, which meant they had their own landing pad where they were greeted by the hotel staff to take their bags. Elena was usually meant to handle most of the face to face interactions on behalf of Tseng and the pack, but when it was for Rufus himself, Tseng took the lead. It was only the five of them on this trip, which meant Reno and Rude were glued to Rufus’s sides the whole time.

Tseng was at the front desk with Elena arranging their rooms, and Rufus was frowning at the men hauling their luggage into the lobby.

“Be gentle with that,” Rufus said, eyes on his own lettered duffle bag.

The person who was carrying it, along with three other bags, startled at Rufus’s voice. They all watched the soft suitcase hit the ground with the sound of shattering glass. 

“Heaven’s sake,” Rufus sighed. “There goes that.”

Reno’s eyes flashed and he rushed forward to pick the bag up himself, fangs bared at the guy who dropped it.

Rude could smell it too. The mako cologne inevitably spilling all over the inside of Rufus’s bag. Reno jogged back to them, brows knit. 

“Sorry, sir,” he said. “You want to salvage any of this?”

Rufus took a deep breath. “It might be nice not to wear it for a few days. Just toss the whole thing.”

Reno gave a two fingered salute and jogged outside with the bag. Tseng and Elena walked back over.

“Sir?” Tseng asked. 

“It’s alright,” Rufus said. “I’m sure Rude’s eyes and Reno’s nose will be enough of a barrier for the next few days. I’ll need your ears in the meetings to come.”

Tseng nodded and passed him a key. “You can count on us.”

Rufus took the key with a barely-there smile. As Reno came back inside, empty handed, and took his place on Rufus’s left side, Rufus addressed them all.

“Not a word to my father. We’ll tell him it broke on the way back. Much less drama that way.”

They all nodded.

Rufus checked his watch. “Now, I believe I have precious little free time for the next two days, so let’s get going. We’ll slow down when the sun sets. I haven’t touched sand in a while. I think I might like to see the beach.”

Elena’s eyes nearly sparkled at the mention. As they walked, she fell into step beside Rufus, Tseng in front and Reno and Rude flanking a few steps behind.

“Sir, is it true there are dolphins here that swim right up to you?” she asked.

Rufus nodded, giving her a fond look. “Yes. Very intelligent ones. Finicky too. They’ll splash you if they don’t like you.”

Elena laughed. “Sir, are you lying to me?”

“He’s right, ya know,” Reno said. “Dolphins are crazy smart. They’ll drag you out to sea, right sir?”

“Do _ not _make me scared of dolphins, Reno Sinclair,” Elena said, hands on hips. “I will never forgive you.”

Rufus took his white jacket off and neatly folded it over his arm. ”They’ll like you, Elena. No need to fear.”

“Good, because I’m _ going _ to pet one,” she said. “I’ve already decided.”

“Those dolphins better watch out,” Rude said. 

She grinned at him. “You could probably lift one, right? We could splash it toward you and then you could scoop it up.”

“I’m in,” Reno said. 

“We are not here to endanger the wildlife,” Tseng said, turning his head just enough. 

“It was a nice thought,” Reno said, patting Elena’s shoulder.

Rufus was staring out the window with a smile. 

-

They were in and out of meetings all day until the sun started setting and even then they were forced to attend a Shinra dinner party. On their way back to the hotel, Rude just began to notice Rufus’s expression getting _ softer _ as he stared out the window. It seemed his gaze was glued to the scenery out here. Tseng started hovering a little closer to Rufus as the day progressed, checking in with him more frequently.

As they returned to their rooms, Tseng paused outside the three doors they had booked. Previously they had decided that Tseng would stay with Rufus, Elena and Reno would room together and Rude would be by himself. Tseng had decided it made the most sense for simultaneously maximizing Rufus’s safety and cutting down on anyone’s scent getting in the way.

“Elena, perhaps you should stay with Rufus for this trip,” Tseng said. 

“Oh!” She nodded, back straightening. “Sure thing, boss.”

Rufus didn’t say anything, just unlocked his door. Elena and Tseng quickly switched their suitcases and Tseng backed away to let Elena go into the room with Rufus. 

“Sir, do you still want to go to the beach?” she asked Rufus. “It’s still open at night.”

“Perhaps tomorrow,” Rufus said. “It’s been a long day.”

“Seconded,” Reno said. “Today was awful.”

“Tomorrow it is. G’night guys,” she said to the rest of the pack before closing the door. 

“Does that mean you’re with me?” Reno asked Tseng, hand on hip. 

Tseng was _ barely _ frowning as he stared at the floor. “I was not counting on this.”

“Scent getting to you?” Reno guessed.

“Hm,” Tseng folded his arms. “It’s fine.”

“Why don’t you take the single,” Reno said. “I’m sure Rude can handle it for two nights.”

Tseng didn’t even look up at them. “Are you sure?”

Reno turned to Rude, waiting.

“It’s not a problem,” Rude said, glancing between the two of them. 

Tseng nodded. “Thank you. I think I will be more vigilant without distractions.”

“Gotcha,” Reno said, turning on his heels. “I’ll get my shit.”

Reno grabbed his bag out from the other room and left the door open for Tseng. 

“Take it easy, boss,” Reno said. 

Tseng picked up his own suitcase, shuffling into the room, still frowning. Reno was already heading inside to where Rude’s suitcase was, so Rude followed after him.

“You think he’s going to be okay?” Rude asked as he shut the door.

Reno tossed his bag onto the floor and closed the blinds. “Ah, yeah, he’ll be fine. He’s pretty resistant to that stuff, it’s just been a while since he got Rufus’s real scent, ya know? He’ll calm down by himself.”

Rude nodded. “Does Rufus get to him worse?”

Reno knelt down and started pulling things out of his bag and tossing them on the floor. “Probably. They’ve been together a while. Tseng probably gets hit harder by it. Not to mention, Rufus has been repressing this for so long, he’s probably on the edge of heat just from letting that mako shit wear off.”

“Damn,” Rude frowned at the wall between their rooms. “I didn’t know it repressed heat too.”

“He’s gotta be a real alpha,” Reno said, standing up with a bundle of clothes in his hands. “And real alphas don’t have heats. God, I cannot wait to never button that fucking shirt again.”

Rude didn’t ask the obvious question as Reno shut himself in the bathroom. _ What does that make you? _ Instead, he hunted through his own suitcase for something to sleep in. He found his sweatpants and changed quickly before Reno reemerged in athletic shorts and a baggy t-shirt that said _ Midgar Moons_. He face-planted into the bed closest to the window.

“What a shit day,” he said. “Good fucking night.”

“You good?” Rude asked, sitting on the other bed. Thank god they were all doubles. He would definitely not be able to sleep in a bed with Reno at that point. Even though he was exhausted from the long, unrelenting day, Reno still smelled like Reno and it was always enough to wake him up.

Reno turned his head to look at Rude. “I’m exhausted. Let me make that clear.”

Rude could hear it in his voice, but he nodded. “I know.”

“Everyone past a certain paygrade at Shinra is an alpha and I’ve been filtering their horrible breath all day,” Reno went on. “Knowing it’s worse for Rufus makes me able to handle it, but that doesn’t mean you don’t smell like a five course meal compared to those assholes. You know what I mean?”

Rude’s pulse surged. “Yeah I do.”

“But I’m tired,” Reno said again. Only one of his eyes was visible, face pressed to the pillow as it was. “You smell good but I’m tired.”

Rude watched him, shaking his head slowly. “I’m… not asking for anything.”

Reno exhaled, one eye narrowing. “I’m asking. But I’m also tired.”

There was a satisfaction in knowing that Reno wanted something from him. “You sound like maybe it’s not a good time.”

Reno buried his face, groaning. “Mmm.”

“You know where to find me if you change your mind,” Rude said, getting into bed.

It was like smoke on the air for the rest of the night. Too tired to properly want, but Rude still had a dream about putting his teeth back in Reno. It really shouldn’t have been a surprise to wake up at two am with Reno sitting shirtless in his bed.

“Reno?”

He was breathing hard, leaning over Rude’s torso. “It’s too fucking hot here.”

Rude started to sit up but Reno just shook his head and leaned both hands onto Rude’s chest. 

“Just… lemme touch.”

Rude certainly wasn’t going to say no, not with that drunken look in Reno’s eyes as he ran his hands over Rude’s chest. Clearly he was sleep deprived, but so was Rude and he didn’t give a shit. Not when Reno fought back a moan as he pressed his face to Rude’s neck, straddling his waist. 

“No marks,” Rude told him quietly.

“_God_, I know,” Reno whined, tonguing at Rude’s neck anyway.

Rude responded by grabbing his thighs. “Gotta be quiet, too.”

“Fuck,” Reno sat up just to glare at Rude. “Think I don’t know that?”

Rude gave him a hazy kind of smile. “I think you’ll forget. Several times. Think you were made just to be loud.”

Reno huffed. “Don’t you fuckin’ talk dirty _ now_.”

Rude gave a quiet laugh. “The fuck you gonna do about it?”

Reno’s eyes went wide, so Rude pulled him up by the waist even closer. Reno had to put his hands on the bed beside Rude’s head to steady himself.

“This what you want?” Rude asked, pulling at the edge of his shorts. 

“_Yes_.” Reno’s voice broke as Rude got a hand around his cock. 

“You really think you can stay quiet through this?” Rude asked, enjoying the way Reno immediately started moving his hips with it. Harsh breath after harsh breath as his arms went taut with the strain of trying to behave. His eyes clamped shut and Rude trailed his other hand up the back of Reno’s thigh.

“Fucking _ fine,_” Reno grabbed Rude’s wrist to stop him. “I can’t. Are you happy? I can’t keep my goddamn mouth shut. Fuck, I want to scream, get your hands off me.”

Rude withdrew both his hands back down to Reno’s thighs. 

“This was a mistake. Should I go to Tseng’s room?” Reno took a shaking breath and covered his mouth. “Fuck.”

“Lay down,” Rude said. “On your side.”

Reno went still, staring at him with narrowed eyes for a few seconds before he did what Rude asked, sliding off of him to lay down. Rude smirked and pushed on his shoulder. 

“Face away from me,” he said. 

Reno rolled his eyes, turning over. “How the hell do I know?”

Rude laughed in Reno’s ear as he pulled their hips together, taking just a brief moment to press his mouth to Reno’s neck, wishing he could bite. A full breath in and he snaked his arm around Reno’s body just to fit his hand over Reno’s mouth.

“I got you,” he said. 

Reno gave a muffled sigh and reached behind him to grip Rude’s waist and pull. 

It was probably a mistake to do this after being startled awake by a wolf in heat, but Rude did it anyway. He couldn’t very well stop himself after Reno started it and besides, sex with Reno was a different kind of high. Even on next to no sleep in a hotel that smelled more like cleaning chemicals than it did either of them, all he could want was _ this_. Holding Reno down just to fuck the wild out of him. Reno’s tongue pressed against Rude’s palm and the way he bent forward to try to get Rude deeper made it all the more difficult to keep from knotting him _ or _ biting him. Still, Rude would do this for him any goddamn time. 

Even with Rude’s hand over his mouth, Reno still made too much noise, but at least he wasn’t yelling. Rude did cut himself on Reno’s teeth, though. It was worth it to feel him come when Rude whispered back to ask him how his blood tasted. He felt Reno licking at that cut as Rude kept thrusting into him. Cruel, really, to ask him to fuck Reno like a human after all that, but he managed.

When they were both well and spent, Rude finally took his hand back and Reno just fell limp, panting for air.

Rude looked at the cut on his hand and decided it was probably smart to wash it before he fell asleep again. It was the first wise decision he’d made that night.

-

The next day they were graciously allowed to sleep in long enough to make up for the miserable previous day. When Reno rose out of bed like a zombie pulling himself out of his own grave, he slid his shirt up over his nose and huffed.

“Damnit,” he whispered.

Rude was already awake and sitting up, checking his phone. “You sick?“

Reno grumbled loudly and jumped out of bed just to open one of the windows and breathe in fresh air. He was mumbling curses into the wind and Rude was pretty sure he heard _ handsome piece of shit _ again, so he didn’t press.

Their next round of meetings were less taxing but far more boring. It made them all itch to finally relax that night. Thankfully it was still light out when they all returned and decided to see the beach. Elena looked Tseng, Reno and Rude each in the eyes and told them to dress appropriately before she and Rufus went into their room to change.

“Almost there,” Reno sighed as he dug through his bag for clothes. “This trip is driving me insane.”

“Sorry,” Rude said, wondering if that was his fault or just the world’s.

Reno glanced up at him and back to his suitcase, expression softening. “Nah. Sorry I woke you up.”

Rude reached out and tugged on Reno’s ponytail, getting Reno’s eyes back on him. “Am I supposed to be mad at you?”

Reno held his gaze for a good five seconds before he laughed. Standing up with his clothes in his hands, he shrugged. “Hey, if it works for you.”

“It does,” Rude said. 

With a breath in, Reno’s eyes scanned over Rude’s whole body before he went to the bathroom to change. Rude thought about telling him that he didn’t need to keep doing that behind closed doors, thought about it for a second and decided to let it go. He sighed, searching his suitcase for something reasonable to wear that night. Elena had threatened from the moment Tseng announced this trip that she was going to drag them all to the beach, so he tried to remember to bring something appropriate. 

He could already hear Elena making fun of him as he swapped his suit for a sleeveless hoodie and joggers. Reno stepped back into the room and approached Rude with a sheepish look on his face. He stared at the wall and shoved his hands in the pockets of his thin black jacket. 

“I don’t want to bother Tseng right now. You mind, uh…” He shrugged and tilted his head away from Rude, pulling his ponytail aside. 

Rude realized what he was asking and took a step closer, setting his hand on Reno’s neck. “Where was it?”

Reno moved Rude’s fingers into the right places. “Don’t go crazy. Not trying to pass out, just, if we’re out in public for a while, it’ll help.”

“Gotcha,” Rude said, pressing as lightly as he could. 

In truth, he remembered exactly where to press, but he didn’t want to admit that even while drunk he’d memorized this placement and motion. Reno’s eyes started to shut and he exhaled. 

“Nice arms, asshole,” he said, voice relaxed. “Elena’s gonna beat us both up for not dressing correctly.”

“She can try,” Rude said. “You want me to get your wrist too?”

Reno held his arm out to Rude, still not looking at him, but as Rude pressed into his skin, Reno just unwound. His skin had already healed up from Rude’s madness from before the trip, so he had it on full display, save for the high neck of his jacket, which Rude had to slide his hand under. Again, Rude felt the nearly overwhelming urge to lean in closer to him, breathe him in, touch, taste, _ mark_, but he held back and let Reno go after a minute. 

Reno shivered and put his hand back in his jacket pocket. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Rude said. 

Elena knocked on their door with a, “Beach! Let’s go!”

So the two of them headed out. The formation began to shift as they walked out of the hotel. Tseng and Rude hung back while Reno and Elena flanked Rufus. Rufus looked casual for once, listening to Reno and Elena banter with a smile, occasionally chiming in. He had a thin white sweater on, loose around his neck and shoulders, rolled up to his elbows. Rude didn’t miss Tseng pointedly staring at Rufus’s wrists.

Elena was teasing Reno. “You don’t even have a shirt on! You just have a jacket!”

“I have a con_dition_,” Reno replied. “How dare you.”

She snickered. “At leastyou don’t have long pants on.”

The two of them turned their stares on Rude and Tseng. Rude had also noticed and had been staring at the back of Reno’s calves until they startled him away. Tseng folded his arms. 

“It still gets chilly at night, you know,” Tseng replied. He had perfectly fit black jeans on, rolled up above his ankles and a long sleeve maroon shirt.

“Well, your hair is slightly more beach-y,” Elena said, motioning at his half up-do. “So, thanks for that.”

Tseng just sighed through his mouth. He probably hadn’t taken a breath through his nose in two days. When they got outside, Elena’s long skirt fluttered around her legs. She’d fully embraced the occasion and had a pale blue skirt with a high slit showing off her legs and a grey long sleeved crop top. 

“Okay, they said we can shift at night if we want to,” she said. “But to just stay away from the human portion of the beach.”

“No thanks,” Reno said, kicking his shoes off as soon as they were on the sand. 

Rufus did the same, making a quiet noise. “Still warm.”

Reno took their boss’s shoes from him without asking and immediately headed over to a cluster of empty chairs. Rufus followed after him, glancing over at the water as they went. The sun was still just visible above the horizon and it was grossly picturesque. Reno flopped onto a chair, tossing their shoes aside and put his hands behind his head. 

“Have fun,” he said, eyes shut.

Elena tied her skirt off and bolted for the water. Tseng took the chair beside Reno, Rude standing on Reno’s other side as Rufus idly stood in front of them. He was staring at his own feet.

“This is nice,” he said. “Being away from everything.”

All three of them went alert as he spoke.

“Sorry for the scent,” Rufus added. “But I am glad to be myself for a moment.”

Reno lowered his arms. “No need to apologize, sir. We’re fine.”

Rufus smiled at him. “Thank you, Reno. And Tseng, as always, you have been invaluable as my second set of ears. Those meetings get so… boring.”

Reno laughed. “What, you don’t live for board rooms and presentations?”

Rufus chuckled. “Believe it or not, I get tired of being my father’s pawn.”

Words only they were allowed to hear. Elena ran back up to them. 

“Sir, you have to put your feet in the water, it’s perfect.” She held her hand out and he accepted, linking their arms together.

“Lead the way, Miss Elena. Hopefully we find you a friend.”

Their voices faded and Rude was going to take a chair too, but Elena yelled for him. 

“Come here!” She was waving. 

“Duty calls,” Reno said, eyes shut again. Rude walked over to the water, hearing Tseng begin to say something to Reno but his voice was too quiet for Rude to make out the words. 

“Don’t tell me I’m here to steal a dolphin,” Rude said as he approached Elena and Rufus.

“No,” she said. “I was just going to ask if… if you… oh my god.”

Her gaze was fully zeroed in on something behind him so Rude turned to see two girls stepping onto the beach, heading for chairs on the human-only portion of sand. 

“Those are the prettiest girls I’ve ever seen,” Elena said, voice gone soft. 

Rude whistled and nudged her. “You should say hey.”

“What? No!” She stepped behind Rude’s body. “Are they looking? Did they see me?”

Rude took a wide lunge toward Rufus and she _ yipped_. “Rude!”

“Sorry, my job is to protect him, not you.” 

“Elena, you should say hello,” Rufus said, half smiling. “This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

“Sir,” she frowned. “Oh god. Okay. Fine.”

“I have faith in you,” Rufus said, gesturing. “Surely a werewolf isn’t scared of talking to two humans.”

Elena made fists with both hands and turned to face the girls again. “Right. It’s nothing. Just girls. I’ll be right back.”

She waded out of the water and Rude glanced at Rufus.

“You’re lively today, sir,” Rude said.

Rufus studied the water, still smiling. “Yes, I know. It’s upsetting Tseng. I feel bad. He’s not used to this.”

“Don’t worry,” Rude said. “Nothing’ll happen. You have Reno and Elena and I even Tseng taps out.”

Rufus nodded. “I’m not worried for myself. I just wish I could have warned him. He’ll feel bad if he thinks he’s not being useful to me, but I am glad to be able to do this for once.”

“I’m sure Tseng knows that,” Rude told him, realizing the depth of loyalty at work. “We all know how smart he is.”

Rufus _ hm_’d. “You are as well, Rude. Thank you for that. You’ve been an excellent addition.”

As Rude turned to look back at Reno, he wanted to say, _ no, sir, I am just as stupid as any other man_, but he didn’t. The scent of salt water and the consistent breeze was strong enough to cover most of Rufus’s scent, but there was an unmistakable note of heat rising up from him. Oddly, it didn’t make Rude want to look at Rufus at all. 

The night carried on and lamps flickered to life to cast warmth and light over the sand. When Rude and Rufus returned to the chairs, Tseng was gone.

“He went for a run,” Reno said. “Wanted to stretch his legs.”

Rufus took Tseng’s chair and Rude pulled one up on Reno’s other side. 

“Tell him he’s doing well for me,” Rufus said. “He won’t believe me if I tell him myself.”

“You think he’ll believe me?” Reno asked, pointing at himself. “Sir, it’s bad to drink sea water.”

Rufus laughed and leaned forward to catch Rude’s eye. “Please repay Reno for his invaluable advice.”

Rude nodded at Rufus and reached over to Reno’s chair, flicking off the latch that kept it in its folded position. It snapped forward into a recliner and Reno cursed as he lurched onto his back. 

“Fuck you,” he gasped. “Sorry, sir.”

Rufus covered his mouth as he laughed. “That works.”

Elena came back shortly after, collapsing onto the end of the now-reclined chair, grabbing Reno’s ankles. “I need water.”

“The hell happened to you?” he asked.

She laid her head on his leg and sighed. “I talked to the prettiest girls I’ve ever seen in my life. They live in Midgar. They said we should ‘hang out’ sometime. The one was so buff and the other had a look in her eye like she wanted to eat me. Am I dead?” 

“No, idiot,” Reno said, flicking the little ponytail she had pulled her blond hair into. “But kudos. Proud of you for not choking.”

She sighed again. “Heaven. I’m ready.”

“I think that’s a success,” Rufus said. 

As she regained lucidity, Tseng came padding up to them. His wolf was a standard size, technically smaller than Rude’s, but his steel grey fur always made him look so striking. He walked with his head held high and Reno, Rude and Elena all dipped theirs in acknowledgement. 

Rufus, of course, was not a part of their pack. He held his hand out to Tseng.

“You won’t believe what Elena has accomplished.”

Tseng approached him and sat with his side parallel to Rufus, facing the rest of them as Rufus touched his ear.

“It sounds as though she has a date waiting for her back home.”

“Don’t say that,” Elena sat up. “It’s not a date, they both just want to hang out.”

“You get a number?” Reno asked. 

“I gave them mine because I left my phone in the room,” she said quickly. “Is that bad?”

“Taking a real gamble,” Reno told her. “But I guess you’ll find out later.”

“End me,” she said.

Reno ruffled her hair and she leaned her head back into it, immediately sitting cross legged in front of him. Her eyes were half closed, a tiny smile on her lips. Reno just kept scratching her head as he continued talking to Rufus and Rude. Tseng stayed shifted for most of the night, probably finding Rufus’s scent easier to deal with in his wolf. Rude always found that, even if being in the wolf made him more affectionate, he was less susceptible to things like heat scent in the animal. 

They stayed out too late, but it felt good knowing it was their choice. Reno was in that laid back state of mind again that made Rude want to keep staring at him. Seeing Rufus occasionally touching Tseng’s fur like it was just a comfort he could indulge in had Rude wanting to shift too. 

Reno had scratched him so nicely…

Watching Reno play with Elena’s hair was also bringing something out in him. Half jealousy that he was touching Elena, and half obnoxious sentimentality at seeing them be so comfortable with each other as friends. It made him want to bark at anyone who got too close to them. 

Alpha, pure and simple. Tseng may have been pack leader, but Rude was their watchdog. It felt good that night.

He wanted to keep them all safe.

Collapsing into bed that night wasn’t nearly as bone-crushingly exhausting as it had been the previous night, but it was still a relief to be behind closed doors again. Rude laid on his back and watched Reno come to stand in the space between the two beds. He was facing the window, hands in his pockets, ponytail like a stripe down the back of his black jacket. 

“What’s up?” Rude asked. Reno’s scent was climbing back up from earlier, but it still wasn’t back to full.

Reno turned his chin toward Rude, not quite catching his eye, and backed up to sit on the edge of Rude’s bed. He laid down, putting his head on Rude’s stomach, hands still stuck in his jacket pockets. 

“Saw your hackles raised for a second there when another group of wolves got close to us,” Reno said. 

“That counts as my job,” Rude told him.

Reno nodded and closed his eyes. “Yeah, I know. You caught ‘em before I did. Good on ya.”

Rude tried to keep his breathing steady as he put his finger on the closest red mark under Reno’s eye and scratched down behind his ear. Reno gave a sigh, mouth open, fangs out. He inclined his head just a little so Rude could keep going. Rude even forced his claws out just to scratch him better. Watching Reno shiver while Rude touched his throat was all kinds of warm.

“I… I can’t shift,” Reno said.

“Can’t?” Rude echoed, pulling his claws back.

Reno took a deep breath. “Well, I can, but it’s hard for me to shift back. I get stuck sometimes. So I don’t.”

Rude traced Reno’s jawline. He wasn’t sure that _ I don’t care _ was the right response, so he held his tongue, just kept drawing lines over Reno’s body and watching him shiver, waiting for it to be too much for one of them. 

All it took was Reno catching his eye for Rude to forget himself just long enough to slide his hand down Reno’s bare chest. That had Reno pressing his head into Rude’s hip, arching his back to encourage Rude’s hand further down his stomach.

When Rude traced his fingertips over Reno’s hip tattoos and said, “How long you gonna be quiet tonight?” Reno found Rude’s other hand and placed it over his own mouth, eyes luminous in the dim room. 

No going back then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m so sorry that this isn’t over yet. i’m really really hoping there’s only one more chapter... (takes a drag of my cigarette) it wasn’t supposed to be like this  
@oodleswrites on twit for all your Turk needs


	4. falling into place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my god it’s done FUCK YEAH happy halloween

They fell into a routine.

After every shift at work, Rude asked, “How you doing?”

And depending on Reno’s answer they would go their separate ways _ pretty alright, _ go to Reno’s apartment _ I’ve been better, _ or go to Rude’s house _ long fucking day, huh? _

Going to Reno’s was more casual, less fevered. He still made some demands but Rude didn’t mind. If they were in Rude’s house, though, that meant Reno needed something out of him so he let Rude set the pace. 

It started out about once a week reliably, but after a month of that, Reno started asking more. A couple times a week gave way to leaving clothes at Rude’s house, just in case. Rude never stayed at Reno’s, but Reno stayed at Rude’s house almost every time he went there. If he was at Rude’s, he _ wanted _to get tired out, which usually meant he didn’t want to get out of bed after they were finished. 

Rude would be lying if he said he didn’t live for it, began to anticipate the day Reno was having and mentally clearing the space for him if it seemed like he’d need it. Rude looked forward to exhausting Reno, taking the day off of him like that. 

But it was starting to wear on Rude. 

He could only do this for so long without hitting a wall. The more he fucked Reno, the more he wanted to knot him, and the less he was going to be able to keep it back. He could feel it nearly every time they were together, but more so when they were in Rude’s bed and everything was running high and Reno let him bite as much as Rude wanted. The urge to keep Reno up all goddamn night was overwhelming. Rude made the arguments in his head every time they were on that edge, _ we’ll figure it out, I’ll make it good for you, if I have to stay up with you and work you over until I pull a muscle in my arm, I will. _

But he never said that out loud, just fought through the ache climbing up through his body each and every time he felt Reno come. Knowing that Reno’s favorite way to be was fucked out and too tired to move had Rude bending over backwards to give that to him. Shifting after nights like those was the perfect cool down and it satisfied his wolf _ just _ enough.

All he wanted was to be the only one that Reno was asking to do this with. So he decided he had to make it good enough to keep Reno coming back. The distance worked against them, so Rude tried to take it as a compliment when Reno called him up in the middle of the night on a random Wednesday.

“Uh huh?” Rude tried to speak through a sleep-dried throat as he answered the phone. 

“Let me in,” Reno spoke quietly. 

Rude could hear rain on the window and hauled himself up out of bed. “Mhm.”

He tried to move fast, opening the front door for a damp Reno. He darted into the house and was up the stairs before Rude could say hello. Instead Rude just locked the door again and went up after him.

“Hate the rain,” Reno said, sounding thoroughly exhausted. He had shed his wet jacket and stood there in a thin t-shirt and sweatpants. He looked like he’d just gotten out of his own bed and ran straight over. 

Rude studied his face, the bags under his eyes and the dull look of his skin. “You good?”

Reno looked away. Heat scent poured off of him and Rude was drawn right to him in his own sleep deprived haze. He touched Reno’s shoulder and leaned his face down to nose Reno’s ponytail off his neck.

Reno shivered as Rude slid his hand up under his thin shirt and pressed them together. 

“Hm,” Rude palmed his chest, speaking into his ear. “I had you last night.”

Reno was already panting. 

“Did I not get you good enough?”

Reno turned his face up toward Rude’s neck, trying to lick at his skin.

“Or is it something else?” Rude asked.

That made Reno pause.

Rude held Reno tightly to his own chest. “You sure you’re not just here for my scent?”

Reno took a harsh breath and muscled out of Rude’s grip. “You _ know _ why I’m here.” He spun around to face Rude with arms crossed. “Don’t make it something else.”

Rude heaved a sigh. “It’s the middle of the fucking night.”

Reno held his own arms tighter, eyes bright with anger and confusion.

“You could have gone somewhere else,” Rude said. “You could have asked me in the morning. You could have _ hired _ someone with less stress than getting yourself all the way out here in a rainstorm at, what, three? You hate the subway _ and _ the rain.”

Reno looked like he was going to start growling.

“If it walks like a duck and it shows up at your door in the middle of the night asking you for favors,” Rude started and then shrugged. “Sorry. I’m tired.” 

Reno huffed. “Thought you didn’t mind me.”

“I don’t,” Rude said back. “If you wanna just forget I said anything, we can keep going. It’s just that I’m real tired and I might knot you by accident so… maybe we shouldn’t. It’s not really an accident if I want it, right?”

Reno’s face was painted with regret as he stood there staring at Rude.

Rude took a deep breath and sat on the edge of his bed, scrubbing a hand over his head. “Shit, Reno, if I told you I’d been fucking this guy for months but I wasn’t allowed to knot him, you’d make fun of me. Tell me I’m wrapped around his finger.”

Reno looked dead tired in that moment. “Yeah. I’d wonder why an alpha was wasting his time with someone like that.”

Rude felt his heart thudding loudly, uncomfortably. “I guess this is the part where I fuck up with fanfare.”

Reno narrowed his eyes. “Guess so.”

Rude leaned his forearms onto his thighs. “You’re not a waste of time.”

Reno’s brows knit together, back to confusion. He jammed his thumb up into his fang as he watched Rude like he was a ticking time bomb that couldn’t be stopped.

“That’s what I’d say,” Rude went on. “To your question. I’m not wasting my time, it’s just that I don’t want to scare you but I think I want to drown in your scent.”

“You say that now,” Reno said, speaking into his thumb. “‘Cause I smell like heat.”

Rude shook his head. “It’s all the time.”

“Don’t,” Reno started, but Rude went on.

“It’s _ all the goddamn time_, Reno. I can’t tell the difference between your alpha or your omega anymore. It’s just you. Even your heat is different. I could hardly pick up on Rufus, you know? While we were in Junon.”

Even though he wasn’t touching Reno, he had a look like Rude was grabbing him by the shoulders. 

“When we’re working or sparring or drinking with Elena or just watching TV, there’s never a time I don’t like your scent,” Rude said. “Sorry if you don’t want to hear it, but it’s true and I don’t appreciate you thinking I’d lie about that.”

“I…” Reno’s shoulders dropped and so did his gaze. “Not calling you a liar, sorry.”

Rude almost laughed at the fact that Reno apparently still cared not to be _ too _mean. It was almost as laughable as the fact that Rude was already desperately hoping Reno would stick around even after this. But this was a couple’s spat and they weren’t a couple. That much was clear.

“I know you’re fighting with yourself and I’m sorry about that,” Rude told him. “I just don’t give a shit which one you are. You’re both and I… like it.”

It was a weak finish, but Reno was watching him like a hawk, thumb back on his fang. Rude wasn’t sure what had his attention so peaked, but he only had the truth left at that point. 

“I like your scent more than anyone else’s,” Rude admitted.

Reno’s breath was stilted, like he was trying not to say something.

“I know you’re probably sick of people making you empty promises but… I just can’t stop thinking about taking your scent.”

Rude realized Reno was digging his claws into his own arm as he stood there looking at Rude like he was insane. “_Mine_?”

Rude nodded, shrugged, and laughed. “Fuck, I dunno. I just want it all the time.”

Reno’s eyes went wide, breath shortening up. “You’d let me put my scent on you?”

Rude was starting to feel steadier. “I’d ask for it.”

Reno huffed again, his fingers now over his mouth. He shook his head a little, gaze darting up and down Rude’s body. “You.”

Rude didn’t dare move as Reno took a short step in his direction. 

“You’d _ ask _ me to scent on you, like an alpha would,” Reno said as he took another step closer to Rude.

“Yeah,” Rude said. “I mean, it’d have to be a little different. I only got the one place.”

Rude tapped his own neck for emphasis. Usually, an omega only had to put their wrist to an alpha’s neck for a split second to start smelling like them. Betas could do it however they wanted, it was just a quieter process. Reno could probably do it either way, but not Rude.

Rude had no clue what the hell would happen trying to connect like that, alpha to alpha, but he wanted to know.

Reno had gotten even closer. He was shaking his head again. “The fuck are you doing to me?” His voice was barely there.

“Nothing,” Rude said back.

Reno was close enough to touch, but Rude stayed still. Those green eyes were stuck on Rude’s neck. Reno’s brow twitched as he stared at Rude’s throat, still stepping forward little by little until he came to stand right in front of Rude. 

Reno’s whole body was moving as his breath came faster. A tremor swept over him from head to toe and he sank to his knees, _ still _ staring at Rude’s neck. Rude wondered if anyone had ever asked this of him. Reno’s fangs were out as he leaned his hands on Rude’s thighs. There was definitely a layer of panic over his scent but Rude just wanted him closer. 

Watching Reno’s expression morph from confused anger to confused anticipation gave Rude hope. Even though it went against his instincts, Rude dropped his gaze and tilted his head back, exposing his throat to Reno.

He heard Reno take an unsteady breath, felt claws sinking into his thighs. Reno lurched forward and then caught himself almost immediately, pressing his forehead to Rude’s chest.

“Damnit,” he muttered, inching forward between Rude’s leg. He was clearly getting pulled in two different directions, but Rude couldn’t stop himself from touching Reno’s waist, soft as he possibly could. 

“Why’s it feel like this?” Reno asked and Rude realized what the hell was going on. It was a thoughtless thing for Rude, signaling to someone. He may have been talking to alpha Reno, but Rude’s scent was calling to omega Reno. 

Reno grabbed the front of Rude’s shirt, taking another deep breath as he slid his face up higher. He was _ shaking _as Rude gently guided him in closer. With his forehead resting heavily on Rude’s shoulder, Reno clawed his way up Rude’s chest, rising up from his knees to get even closer. 

Rude could feel Reno’s breath hot on his skin. He pulled on Reno’s waist again, speaking softly. “C’mere.”

Reno finally slid his neck against Rude’s. They both startled at the immediate, painful reaction. Punishment for trying to force the wrong end of two magnets together. Rude’s body tried to say _ no _ but he held tight to Reno, breathing through it until—

“Oh _ fuck_,” Reno dug his claws into Rude’s shoulder, straddling his waist just to get them touching more. 

The pain didn’t exactly go away, held between them like an electric current, but it wasn’t the kind of pain Rude wanted to run from. He leaned back, keeping his hands on Reno’s waist to hold him there. Reno sounded like he could hardly get a full breath in as he kept sliding those spots together, sparking that reaction over and over again. The feeling was getting _ louder _somehow, and Rude kept trying to get Reno onto the bed with him so they could ride this out more comfortably, but Reno was either too overwhelmed to notice or care. 

Rude was sinking into a pleasant kind of numb when Reno pressed his wrist to the other side of Rude’s neck without warning. It was immediate sensory overload as he felt that alpha-omega connection pour over them, vying for control against the alpha-alpha madness happening on his right side. Rude snarled as the desire to shift became almost unbearable, felt it all the way down to his toes as Reno gave this blissed out moan. Meanwhile, Rude felt like he was going to come apart at the seams if this went on for too long. Unprepared and unequipped for the sheer amount of _ sensation _ boiling inside him. 

Rude’s wolf brain shorted out his human one and all he could process was_ this is mine. _He peeled Reno off of him, wrangling him onto the bed to pin him down and sink his teeth into Reno’s shoulder. He heard the yelp Reno gave, felt him shiver, pushing at Rude’s chest to get him to back off. 

When Rude rose up over him to look down at Reno, he saw his own shifted hands and knew he’d fallen into that half-human form without even realizing it.

Reno was panting, eyes wide. “Oh shit.”

Rude backed off of him, despite the thrill that shot down his spine while looking at Reno so small underneath him. The scent of Reno’s regret was too sharp to get close, though.

Reno let his breath out, laying there for a few seconds while Rude put his back to the wall and tried not to drown in the feeling of _ want_. When Reno sat up, eyes darting away from Rude, he shrank in on himself.

“Sorry,” he said before darting out of the room. 

Rude heard his steps disappear down the stairs and out the door back into the rain. 

Long after he was gone, Rude could still smell Reno on his own skin.

-

Living in the pack house had never been an issue for Tseng. He liked making himself available for the others and they were generally respectful of his space on the second floor. That being said, he never missed when one of them came slinking through the front door in the middle of the night. 

It was usually Reno, sometimes Elena, but never Rude, which was why it was surprising when Tseng caught Rude’s scent on the air in the dead of night. He thought about getting up to investigate, but he heard the door open and shut quickly. The lights didn’t even come on, the house just went still again.

Tseng figured he wanted privacy and stayed in his room. When he woke up at his usual time and headed down the steps, he thought to offer Rude something out of the kitchen and turned into the living room where the scent was coming from. 

The surprise of seeing a shock of red hair on the couch didn’t last long.

Tseng put his fist on his hip and loudly cleared his throat. “Reno.”

Reno startled awake and lifted bleary eyes up to Tseng’s. “Shit.” He touched his own neck and looked at his hand as if he could _ see _ Rude’s scent clinging to him.

“You seem surprised,” Tseng said. “You weren’t expecting this?”

Reno sat upright, taking an unsteady breath as he stared out the window. It was barely after sunrise. He looked drunk, but there wasn’t a trace of alcohol on the air. 

“Reno,” Tseng said again, a little softer. “What happened?”

He turned back to Tseng like he’d forgotten the alpha was standing there. “F-fuck.” 

With a groan, he hunched forward and Tseng watched as he melted into his wolf. The animal swayed on all fours and Tseng rushed forward to try and offer assistance. He knew how long it had been since Reno had shifted like this. It was bound to hurt. 

“Reno, stay calm,” Tseng said, palms out. 

The red wolf growled.

“I’m sure we can deal with this,” Tseng started, but too quickly, Reno darted out of the room and towards the backdoor. 

Tseng made a fist and pulled his phone out as he jogged after Reno. 

-

When Rude was finally able to shift back to human, every one of his muscles ached. All he wanted was to crawl back into bed and sleep for a day. Sadly, Elena called him before he could find the peace of mind to lose consciousness. Sleep eluded him as he couldn’t stop remembering the night he’d had in painstaking detail.

“Hm?” he answered the phone, face still to the mattress.

“Have you seen Reno?” Elena sounded breathless. 

“Uh,” Rude sat up, a sinking feeling in his chest. “Not since the sun was down.”

“Damnit, I was hoping he was with you,” she sighed. 

“What’s going on?” Rude asked.

“Tseng found him in the pack house this morning,” she said. “But he shifted and ran away before they could talk. Tseng told me to stay here in case he comes back. Tseng went out looking for Reno but Reno’s stupid fast in his wolf. It’s also been, like, a really long time since he shifted? I’m worried.”

Rude heaved a sigh. “I should go out and help look for him.”

“No, you should stay at your place,” Elena rushed to speak. “Tseng said we should count on him showing up somewhere familiar. He never comes to my building because I live with other werewolves so, your place and the pack house are pretty much the only two places he’d go besides his own apartment and he can’t get in there if he’s shifted.”

Rude sank back down onto his bed. “Fuck.”

“Uhm… do you know what happened?” she asked. “Does this have anything to do with the fact that you’re, like, super into him?”

Rude pulled the phone away from his face to groan. “Maybe.”

“Did you fight?” she asked.

“Kind of,” he admitted. “I’m… not really sure at this point.”

“Are _ you _ mad at him?” she asked quietly.

Rude gave a dry laugh. “‘Course not.”

“Is _ he _mad at you?” she guessed.

“I dunno,” Rude told her. “Shit. I’ll go unlock my door.”

“Please text if he shows up!” she said.

“I will,” he said, getting himself up out of bed. “I, uh, guess I won’t see you ‘til later. Let me know if you need anything.”

“All we need right now is to make sure Reno’s okay,” she said. “So. Patch this up, got it?”

Rude gave another small laugh as he headed down the stairs. “Got it.”

It took until the sun went down. Rude had accidentally fallen asleep with his head on the kitchen table when he heard scratching at the door. Bolting awake, temples aching, he stumbled to let Reno in.

A flash of reddish fur streaked by. Rude shut the door again and locked it before following after the wolf. Up the stairs and down the hall, he found Reno shivering in the empty guest room. Rude flicked the light on and knelt in the doorway. Reno wasn’t small persay, just skinny as a greyhound with fur on the shorter side. He was panting as he met Rude’s gaze.

“Sorry,” Rude said. He pulled his phone out. “I gotta tell Elena and Tseng you’re okay.”

He sent a text to them both. _ Still wolf but he’s here. I’ll update. _He switched it to silent and pocketed it again.

“I’m sorry,” Rude said again, louder. “I shouldn’t have pushed you.”

Reno’s eyes seemed to get brighter, ears twitching like he’d heard a whistle.

“It’s my problem if I can’t handle you,” Rude went on. “Not your job to cater to my bullshit. You just surprised me.”

The wolf lowered his head, giving a whine.

Rude felt that noise in his gut like a knife. “Did… you think I was mad at you?”

Reno looked away, ears and tail lowering.

Rude had to laugh, rubbing his eyes. “We’re good at this, huh?”

Slowly, tentatively, Reno walked over with his head still low. Rude lowered his arms to his sides, unsure of what Reno wanted. He leaned against the doorframe in case Reno wanted to get by him without touching him, but the wolf bumped his head against Rude’s arm.

The relief was immediate and dizzying as he put his hands on Reno’s face.

“You’re good,” Rude said, scratching over his neck. “Pretty sure I _ can’t _ be mad at you.”

The wolf gave this slow shake as Rude smoothed his hands down Reno’s back. 

“So you’re stuck like this?” he asked.

The wolf huffed and pushed in closer, resting his chin right on Rude’s chest. Rude just gave up on asking questions and pet the wolf instead, figuring it was the best use of his time at that point. Having Reno go limp against him while Rude scratched him was pretty much worth the sleep deprivation and anxiety he’d been feeling up to that moment. Reno had a triangle of white fur on his chest. Rude was fascinated.

He whispered, “You’re not hurt, right? No one gave you trouble while you were running around like this?”

The wolf gave a soft rumbling noise, stretching up to tuck his face into Rude’s neck. Rude pulled him in with both arms and started running his fingers over Reno’s body, checking for anything out of place. Mostly, Reno just seemed cold and a little damp. When he determined that nothing had happened, Rude pulled the wolf up into his arms and stood.

“I’m gonna pass out and I don’t want to sleep on the floor,” he muttered into the wolf’s fur as Reno tried to climb his shoulders. “Just stay with me, alright? Elena and Tseng’d kill me if I lost you again.”

He set Reno down at the foot of the bed and said, “You don’t want them to kill me, right?” His eyes felt swollen from being awake for too long. “Just… need a few hours,” he mumbled as he crawled into bed.

He felt the wolf pad across the covers and settle with his head on Rude’s arm. When he woke up again from a dreamless sleep, they’d both moved around. Rude was on his back and the wolf was tucked up against his side, tail laying across Rude’s shoulder. It still wasn’t enough sleep, but Rude figured Reno needed to eat after a day spent in the wolf. 

That, and he had three missed calls, two from Elena and one from Tseng. Rude sat up and debated who to call first, checking his texts. Tseng had sent a simple, _ Please inform us if we need to do anything for either of you. _

Elena was singing a different tune.

_ -DID YOU SCENT ON RENO? _

_ -RUDE??? _

_ -WHAT IS GOING ON? _

_ -I’m gonna kill you both, you need to tell me what is UP _

_ -okay Tseng thinks I’m overreacting so I’m gonna stop staring at my phone for a while but wow you two are making me crazy. just please tell me that Reno’s fine when you get a chance _

Rude laid back down, but then Reno was up and staring at him, green eyes alert.

“Everyone’s judging me,” Rude said.

The wolf huffed.

Rude put his hand on that white spot over Reno’s chest. “Food?”

His ears shot forward. Rude made them both eggs even though it was evening by then. He put both plates on the table and took a seat before he remembered Reno was wolf-bound. Reno just stuck his front paws on the table to scarf down his food and walked over to rest his head in Rude’s lap. Rude ate while scratching Reno’s ears.

He called Elena afterwards while they sat on the couch.

“Finally,” she breathed by way of a greeting. 

“Hey, I just—“

“Shut up, I’m video calling you,” she said.

Rude pulled the phone back with a scowl. As the screen switched over, he rested the phone on the armrest so that it was facing Reno. The wolf hunkered down to stare directly into the camera as Elena’s face blipped into view.

“Reno!” She beamed at him. “Thank god.”

He _ woo’d _ softly at her.

“Stop, I’m gonna cry,” she said. “I was so worried!”

“I think he’s fine,” Rude added. “Checked him for cuts and all that. Nothing seems out of place.”

She sighed. “That’s good. Even Rufus was worried.”

Reno grumbled, turning his face from the screen.

“Of _ course _ I told him,” Elena shot back. “I can’t very well lie to him, least of all when it’s just me in the room. You know how hard it is to lie to that man! Besides, ever since we saw him all _ omega _ at the beach, I’ve been kind of weak to him, ya know? Does that make me bad? Oh, god, I’m babying him, aren’t I? I need to stop that.”

She took a breath and Rude picked the phone up and aimed it right at Reno. 

“Hey, Elena, watch this,” Rude said and began scratching Reno’s thigh.

The wolf started kicking his leg immediately, eyes narrowing as he stretched into the scratch.

“Oh, oh my god.” Elena started laughing. “Look at him go!”

Rude turned the phone back toward himself. “Sorry we missed work.”

She shook her head, tucking her hair behind her ear. “It wasn’t a big deal. Does this mean you two are okay?”

Rude glanced at the wolf, who was staring right back at him. “I’m not gonna answer that.”

She rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine. Are you coming in tomorrow?”

“I’ll be there,” Rude said. “Guess we’ll see about red.”

Reno growled. 

“Rude, he hates nicknames,” Elena told him.

“Who?” Rude asked. “Shortstack over here?”

The growling got louder and Rude pointedly ignored him.

Elena was covering her mouth, trying not to laugh. “Yeah, the little demon.”

With a bark, Reno lunged forward. The shift happened so fast, Rude hardly processed it. All of sudden, Reno was laying over Rude’s lap, hands around the phone, glaring at Elena, wolf ears out. 

“You are not allowed to call me that!” he snapped. “I am bigger _ and _ older than you!”

She gasped. “He’s cute when he’s mad.”

“You are dead to me!” he shouted.

She snorted and burst out laughing.

“I’m hanging up!” Reno snarled, jamming the end call button with a huff. He pushed the phone away, setting his chin on his arm. “My name isn’t even difficult.”

Rude breathed and tried not to smile too warmly. He set his hand on Reno’s back.

“You know her,” Rude said. “Can’t be helped.”

“If I bit her hand she wouldn’t be so…” Reno’s eyes slid shut as Rude scratched down his spine. “So… her.”

They stayed like that for a while, Rude running his hand over Reno’s back. He had no idea how late it was by the time he leaned down to tell Reno, “I gotta go back to sleep soon.”

Reno opened his eyes, turning a little to face Rude. His ears were still wolfish, poking up through his hair. “I know you said you were going in tomorrow but… what if you didn’t go in tomorrow?”

Rude smirked, sliding his hand up to Reno’s head, daring to touch his ears. He felt them twitch but at least Reno didn’t try to bite him.

“If we’re doing this, you gotta let me be gentle every so often,” Rude said.

Reno covered his face with his arm. “Fine.”

Rude quirked his eyebrow in surprise. “Yeah?”

Reno turned away. “Yeah. Whatever. Why fix what isn’t broken?”

Rude laughed quietly and took the opportunity to nip at Reno’s ear. He felt Reno startle, heard his breath catch, but he didn’t do anything, still laying across Rude’s legs. Reno’s scent was coming back, or maybe Rude still had it stuck to his own skin. Not that it mattered. He kissed the back of Reno’s neck and Reno pressed his face to the couch.

“It’s good to see you,” Rude said.

Reno took a deep breath. “Yeah…”

“I’ll consider your suggestion if you let me sleep a little more,” Rude said.

Reno managed to get himself up with a nod. “Yeah. Yeah I could use it too.”

“You staying?” Rude asked him.

Reno shrugged without looking at him, so Rude changed tactics, gripping Reno by the back of his neck and forcing their gazes together. 

“Let me rephrase,” Rude said. “Stay.”

Reno laughed, eyes bright. “Fine.”

Rude really did mean to get as much sleep as he could, but as soon as he was in bed, he could _ feel _ Reno watching him without even checking. Rude reached out and put his hand over Reno’s face.

“Go to bed,” Rude said.

Reno made a noise and grabbed Rude’s hand. “C’mon.”

Rude let him go, shaking his head with a smile. “I’ve been awake for too long worrying about your skinny ass. I need this.”

Reno went quiet and Rude shut his eyes again. About a minute went by before Reno was shifting around and Rude was about to threaten to tie his damn legs together when he felt Reno drop down right next to him, his back to Rude’s flank.

“Cold,” he muttered.

Rude threaded his arm between Reno’s to rest his hand on Reno’s stomach. “Right.”

“Just don’t ask me to hold your damn hand,” Reno said.

Rude just laughed. It wasn’t until the morning that he realized he had forgotten to set his alarm and woke up at ten in the morning to a call from Tseng.

“Shit, sorry,” he answered, fumbling around a sleep-weak Reno and trying to force himself to want to get out of bed.

“It’s fine,” Tseng said through the phone. “He’s still with you I assume.”

Reno was hugging Rude’s waist, eyes still shut, head on Rude’s stomach.

“Yeah,” Rude said. “But I doubt he’ll be very useful today.”

“My instinct is that neither of you will be,” Tseng replied. “Why don’t you take the day. Nothing exciting is happening. Rufus… Rufus wants you both back to normal by next week. Understood?”

“Crystal clear,” Rude said. “Tell him thanks.”

“I will,” Tseng said back and hung up.

Rude set his phone down on the nightstand as Reno began crawling up to lay on top of his chest like a pile of laundry. He went limp again but Rude was breathing in heat scent. He set his hand on Reno’s head.

“You got your wish.”

Reno exhaled and Rude watched his mouth bloom into a smirk. “Oh?”

“Looks like I’m stuck here,” Rude said, pressing lightly into Reno’s neck.

“What a shame,” Reno’s voice sank lower as he turned his head into Rude’s hand. “The hell are you gonna do all day?”

“Dishes,” Rude said and Reno glared at him. 

“Guess I’ll head out then. You don’t need me for that.”

Rude smiled. “You’re gonna help.”

“Like hell I am,” Reno said back, returning the smile.

Rude grabbed Reno and rolled over to pin him down. Reno gave a breathy laugh as he pawed at Rude’s back. Rude held Reno’s jaw and tilted it away to very lightly drag his fangs over Reno’s neck.

“I _ need _… to take a shower,” he said, picking his head up.

Reno narrowed his eyes, all the excitement gone. “You _ like _ telling me no, huh?”

Rude laughed as he got out of bed. 

“You get off on it, don’t you?” Reno asked, flopping back onto the bed to watch Rude circle around toward the bathroom. “I’m having a problem and all you care about is dominance! Typical alpha!”

Rude opened the bathroom door and gestured with his arm for Reno to follow. Reno’s eyes widened just a touch before he scrambled out of bed and walked by Rude.

“If you insist,” Reno said.

Rude pulled the door shut. “That is, if you’re not too short for me to fuck you in the shower.”

Reno gave him a crazed kind of smile. “You are pushing your luck.”

“Just saying,” Rude shrugged. “You’re short. It’s a fact.”

“Comparably! I’m only short next to you and besides.” Reno grabbed Rude’s biceps. “The hell’s all this for if you can’t figure out how to fuck someone smaller than you?”

“I guess that makes you the brains,” Rude said, taking his hips. 

Reno grinned. “Yeah, I like that.”

-

After the third night in a row that Reno spent at Rude’s house, Rude cornered Reno where he sat perched on the counter, per usual when it was time for dinner. Rude leaned both his hands on either of Reno’s hips, boxing him in, and said, “How many nights before you start buying my groceries?”

Reno folded his arms. “I’ll chip in.”

“How many before you start telling Elena that this is where you are?” Rude asked next, hands settling on Reno’s waist.

Reno squeezed his thighs into Rude’s body and shrugged. “I won’t lie if she asks.”

Rude leaned down to kiss Reno’s neck. “When are you gonna let me knot you?”

Reno’s breath caught as he grabbed Rude’s arms. “H-hey.”

“You know I like your scent,” Rude went on. “What if I told you I could make it good for you?”

Reno shivered at Rude’s tongue on his neck. “It’s not that I don’t want to. Shit, every part of me wants it, Rude, I just—”

“I know,” Rude lifted his face, realizing he was going too far. “It’s alright. Forget I asked.”

Reno held the front of Rude’s shirt, eyes narrowed. Rude could tell he was wary that Rude wasn’t being honest, so Rude smiled, fitting their noses together.

“Gimme something else instead,” he said.

Reno smirked, holding tighter to Rude’s shirt. “Just don’t be too sweet about it.”

He tried, only allowing himself a few seconds to kiss Reno soft before bending him over the counter just to make Reno dig his claws in while he slid their tongues together. Reno gave a good sigh, opening his mouth wider for Rude. It didn’t take long to forget about food. They didn’t even make it upstairs. Rude was entirely too taken by the way Reno’s ponytail looked, trailed over the countertop as Rude bent Reno’s legs back.

Reno seemed twice as sensitive, magnetized to Rude the whole night. Rude lost count of how many times he got Reno off. He didn’t mind of course; each time had him more fixated on Reno than the last. But of course, that had him aching to take it further, so he wound up backing down just to use his hands as the night slipped away. By the time it was midnight, Reno looked like he was on another plane of existence. 

“You good?” Rude asked in a moment of silence.

Reno had an exhausted smile stuck to his lips as he panted for air. “Bored yet?”

Rude pulled Reno’s back to his chest. “Sorry, are you telling me some asshole found out you can come twenty times in a night and called you boring? They didn’t think, fuck I gotta keep this one?”

Reno laughed. “Weirdly, not everyone appreciates this part of me.”

“Fuck them,” Rude said back. “Gimme all you got.”

Reno gave a relieved sigh. 

They hit a point in the night when Reno started turning back to Rude and easing some of his tension. It wasn’t a knot but it did feel like gold when Reno opened up his throat for Rude and gave Rude his fingers to bite. Rude only nipped him enough to taste some of Reno’s blood, but holding Reno’s hand to his teeth while Reno had his tongue on Rude’s cock did let off a lot of steam. 

Waking up in a tangle with Reno had Rude feeling like it was okay that they weren’t ever going to do this normally. It didn’t matter if they weren’t a bonded pair. All that mattered was that _ this _ is where Reno went after work. Rude was the wolf he asked for.

After all, ever since the first time they had slept together, Rude had never smelled anyone else on Reno.

That was better than good.

Rude didn’t ask Reno what had him so riled that night, just waited to see how his day went. He seemed itchy, gravitating closer to Rude all through their shift until the end when he surprised Rude and said he was going to his own place.

“Nothing’s wrong, right?” Rude asked.

Reno shook his head. “Nah, just promised Elena I’d see her. She’s been watching me like a hawk lately. I owe her some peace of mind.”

That cleared things up for Rude, so he said goodnight with a slight tug on Reno’s ponytail and went home. They’d pick it up another night. He wasn’t worried anymore.

-

Reno let Elena into his apartment, her arms full with an overstuffed canvas bag, and they set about making dinner.

“You been good?” Elena asked, voice doing that thing where she was trying not to just come right out and ask something.

“Yes, Rude and I are sleeping together, no we’re not bonded,” Reno said as he passed her the cooking oil. 

She groaned. “Why not? He’s good to you, right?”

Reno shrugged. “I’m still kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

Elena frowned. “About what?”

Reno looked her in the eyes and raised his brow. “What every alpha complains about.”

“Oh,” she nodded a few times. “You can’t get knotted?”

“It’s not that I can’t,” Reno said. “It’s that it never goes well.”

Elena was watching the frying pan and waiting for the right temperature. “You really don’t think Rude would try to be better?”

Reno tried not to shiver as he remembered Rude’s claim. _ What if I told you I could make it good for you? _“Lots of guys make lots of promises.”

Elena turned to Reno, hands on hips. “Not to be blunt, but why are you even with him if you don’t think he’s better? Do you just _ want _ to watch it go bad?”

Reno straightened up a little as she stared at him. “Damn. Savage.”

She held her tongs to her chest. “Sorry. But, I mean, why _ are _ you with him?”

Reno leaned his hand on the counter. _ Because he smells good. Because he fucks me like he means it. Because he’s not scared of me. Because he likes _ my _ scent. Because Rude is somehow the most patient person and also makes me feel like I have electricity instead of blood and goddamn nobody else makes a heat feel like a blessing. _

_ He’s soft. _

“He is pretty hot, right?” Reno asked with a smirk.

Elena smacked him with the tongs.

-

Reno tried to give it another day, but the seed that Rude had planted was flourishing. Could he really make it good? Could Rude get Reno through without one of them getting sick of the other? It was turning him into a fidgety mess all through his shift at Shinra HQ. His body and his brain were already anticipating letting Rude try. Not just anticipating. _ Craving. _

It had him so worked up that he was debating faking an illness just to get out of the Shinra building earlier, but he didn’t want to worry Elena and Rude who were stuck with him. 

Rufus approached Reno toward the end of the day and set a hand on his upper arm. “Reno, I think you’re all I need to get back to my office in one piece. Rude and Elena, you can head out.”

Rude and Elena nodded and said their goodbyes as Rufus linked his arm with Reno’s. As soon as they were far enough away, Rufus leaned in closer to Reno.

“I know that look,” Rufus whispered.

Reno wanted to crawl into a hole. “I’m sorry sir.” 

Rufus gave a barely audible chuckle as he called for the elevator. “Mr. Rude has been watching you exceptionally closely today.”

Reno swallowed. “Well, I’m sure he can’t help but react to something—”

“Not in an alpha way,” Rufus clarified. “Or, not in the way you’re thinking.”

Reno held his tongue.

The doors slid open with a _ hush _ and they stepped into the glass elevator. Rufus turned to look at the city, but Reno kept his gaze on the numbers as they blinked by.

“He’s worried about you,” Rufus said. “It’s kind. If he’s distracted by the scent, he’s doing a very good job of hiding it. It seems more like he’s concerned for your health than anything else. Does he know how you work?”

“Uh, yes sir,” Reno said, eyes flicking back and forth between Rufus and the doors. 

Rufus smiled at the cityscape. “It must be nice to have a whole pack now that understands you.”

Reno narrowed his eyes with a smile. “You seem real sentimental today, sir.”

Rufus met Reno’s scrutiny with his usual undeterred attitude. “Slowly, I am wearing my father down about the cologne. You all are helping with that, actually. The four of you have proven trustworthy enough that I have been given select permission on when I might be allowed to stop pretending to be an alpha.”

Reno grinned. “No shit!” The happiness on Rufus’s account was enough to dull the fire for a moment.

Rufus covered his mouth as he laughed. The doors opened once again and they walked toward his office. “Only on off days for now, but we’ll see how it goes. So long as all of you are as vigilant as you’ve always been, it shouldn’t be a problem. My father was especially concerned about Rude, given his more traditional alpha build. I’m sure it would only ease his mind if he thought that Rude had his eye on someone else.”

“You can tell your dad whatever you need to,” Reno said. 

Rufus unlocked his office door, stepping inside. “Just let me know if it’s not a lie after all. I’d hate to intentionally deceive.”

“Sir, are you trying to get gossip out of me?” Reno asked, leaning in the doorway. “Not very professional.”

Rufus shed his jacket and draped it over his chair. “Neither is pursuing your coworker, but I’m not judging you.”

Reno almost laughed again, shutting the door and walking over to Rufus’s desk where he took a seat. “You don’t hate it, right? Me and Rude? Maybe happening?”

Rufus pulled his tablet out and began opening several applications. “For better or for worse, it _ is _happening.” His gaze flicked up to Reno’s. “Be better.”

Reno gave a salute. “Yessir.”

“And lock the door on your way out.”

When Reno was back in the elevator, he checked his phone to see a text from Rude saying he was going to be waiting in the lobby unless Reno told him to go home. Just reading a message from Rude had the heat roaring in his ears again. Reno leaned his head against the glass and breathed.

He replied, _ might need your help getting out of here._

Rude was waiting by the elevator like he knew. He held his arm out to Reno. 

“You want me to call a ride?”

Reno leaned his shoulder into Rude’s, trying to be subtle about very much he wanted to stop walking and drag Rude out of sight somewhere. “I’ll pay you back.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Rude said, phone in hand. “Let’s get you out of here.”

Riding in the backseat of a stranger’s car, Reno’s leg was bouncing again. It was hard enough to deal with Rude in the big open hallways of Shinra, but in this enclosed space, his mouth was watering.

“I put in my address,” Rude said. “That okay?”

Reno nodded, not looking at him. His mind was already in Rude’s bed. He could _ feel _ Rude’s hands on him the more he thought about it, which he really should have stopped doing, considering they weren’t there yet. He was chewing on his thumb as he sat there, hardly able to stand how close they were.

“You sure you’re alright?” Rude asked quietly.

“Yes,” Reno said, and despite his best effort, he didn’t sound angry at all.

Rude gave a soft _ hm_. “Almost there.”

The bastard had the nerve to sound smug and Reno huddled towards the window because it _ was _ making everything worse. 

“You look like you’re in pain,” Rude said.

His fucking voice was too much.

“You’re not allowed to speak to me until we’re there,” Reno snapped, head tucked against the car door. 

“Fine,” Rude said and then Reno felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

The text from Rude simply said _ not talking. you’re not in trouble right? _

Reno wanted to growl but he also wanted to melt. 

He responded, fingers shaking, _ does trouble count that i’m boiling alive and trying to hide how goddamn hard I am so the fucking driver doesn’t notice? _

Rude made a noise like he was trying not to laugh. Reno gave him the finger without looking at him. It was hell until the car was slowing up and Rude had the driver stop early just to get Reno out of there faster, but then Reno’s legs just refused to do anything, so Rude lifted him up onto his back.

“This is humiliating,” Reno muttered as he clung to Rude in a piggy-back ride.

“Put your head down,” Rude said.

Reno huffed and buried his face in Rude’s neck. 

“It’s weird enough for my neighbors to have a werewolf living on their street,” Rude said. “If they see two in suits walking through they’re gonna think something’s up.”

Reno was only half listening as he breathed in Rude’s scent. He thought about apologizing in advance for when they got inside the house and he lost his fucking mind, but he didn’t want to lift his head away. Plus he was starting to think that Rude was looking forward to exactly that kind of reaction.

It was a pretty good arrangement, all things considered. 

As soon as Reno heard the door shut behind them he started tonguing at Rude’s neck. 

Rude’s hand went tight around Reno’s thigh. “Fuck that’s still good.”

Reno couldn’t help the immediate wave of heat he felt at those words. It wasn’t like he had a thing for praise, it was just the way Rude said it. Or maybe it really was just Rude’s voice. 

Or just him.

Reno had no words as Rude carried him up the stairs. He already knew he was going to ask, but he was trying not to beg before they’d even gotten started. It didn’t usually come on like this. Already wet at the thought of Rude knotting him and he was still fully clothed.

Rude sat on his bed and turned to face Reno, catching him in a kiss. It startled Reno for a split second before he was clawing at Rude’s shirt to get him in closer. Kissing him back, sinking into the fever as easily as he ever had. Suddenly, it didn’t matter how long it took them. Might even be nice to take it slow for once. Rude must have had the same thought as he seemed to be getting lost in it. Reno didn’t care. He didn’t even want to make demands. It was always better when Rude was in control anyway.

It surprised Reno, however many minutes later of just kissing and feeling like a fucking teenager for how good it felt, when Rude asked, “What can I do for you?”

Reno hardly managed a full breath in to tell him. “Whatever you goddamn want.”

Rude smiled and Reno felt like he was being crushed. He pulled Rude back to him and the sparks started up all over again. Eventually he couldn’t manage to kiss Rude through both their fangs in the way and Rude took to biting him again. It felt just as good.

Usually, Rude avoided anything too _ alpha _when he did bite. That night he went right for Reno’s neck. It had Reno’s whole body going weak the way those teeth felt, carelessly tearing skin like Rude wanted to leave a mark. There was no way it’d heal before their next day in. Either Reno would have to button up or everyone would see. And know. 

He was shaking again. Partly from the way Rude was handling him, and partly because something was tripping his mind from how good it sounded for every fucking person in the world to know that Rude had done this to him. With a wild laugh, he pushed Rude’s head in closer to his neck, hoping the message was clear. 

_ Whatever you want_.

Rude took that as permission to bite as much and as hard as he wanted until Reno could hardly see straight and he was pretty sure they were ruining the sheets with his blood. There was absolutely no way he was going to be able to hide this. _ Good _. By the time he realized his ears were back out, Rude was guiding him up to the other side of the bed, wrestling Reno out of his clothes. Reno felt like puddy in Rude’s hands. Drunk off the feel of his growing impatience. Rude was usually careful even when he was letting go, but tonight seemed different for him too. 

Weak from the biting and the imminent relief, Reno was barely any help as Rude pulled Reno’s back to his chest. He felt his last little bit of restraint beginning to crumble as Rude held one of Reno’s wrists down and leaned up over him. Rude growled through it as he slid himself inside and Reno reached behind him to touch the back of Rude’s neck, his pulse gone wild.

Rude went slow. It was making Reno delirious. He’d gotten far too used to the rough side of the bed, having Rude take his time was ruining him in a much different manner. Reno was far more aware of everything. It was all bright and vivid and burning him up. No wonder Rude never did this. Reno could feel his knot as Rude resisted falling into something he couldn’t get out of. 

“Just do it,” Reno spoke into the sheets, pushing back into Rude. “Can’t fucking stand this.”

When Rude dug his claws into Reno’s hip, he knew they were close. “Damnit, Reno, I can’t say no to you like this.”

He was giving a warning, letting Reno back out if this wasn’t a real request, but Reno had made his choice two evenings ago when Rude had said those words to him.

“You said you could make it good,” Reno grabbed Rude’s waist behind him. “You think I haven’t been obsessing over what you said? _ Fuck _ I want it so bad. I wanna feel you fucking lose it, just knot me!”

Rude growled, holding Reno even tighter as a shiver of the wolf passed over his body. Maybe he was trying to decide if Reno was serious or not, so Reno made the choice for him. Bracing his hands and grinding his hips back onto Rude, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever wanted a knot as bad as he did right then, but it felt true. Certainly when Rude realized they were doing this and hauled Reno back up against him, no more hesitation as he started working his knot inside, Reno _ knew _ it hadn't ever felt this good before. 

It wasn’t just omega relief. Rude guided Reno into his lap to make it easier— not that Reno needed any help by then, lusting after this exact thing for two straight days. The satisfaction of Rude settling inside him spilled right over into the alpha part of Reno’s brain. Everything was _ on _ and it was perfectly overwhelming, so full he felt it through every part of himself. 

Reno lulled back against Rude’s chest, head on Rude’s shoulder. He was panting as Rude wrapped both his arms around Reno’s middle. Every little movement was spiking more pleasure through his body, like numbness spreading through him. This was always the first part, the immediate reward of getting knotted. The omega saying _ yes _ all along his skin. 

But, as always, the alpha simmered underneath, not tired enough. Without the usual frantic physicality, the alpha part of him just sat there, _ wanting_. Before long, it would get unbearable if they couldn’t do anything about it. Just as Reno thought about trying to move again, Rude brought their necks together and Reno gasped through that shockwave of feeling when their alpha scents aligned. Lightning straight down his spine.

“_Fuck_,” his voice was raw as he started rubbing those spots together. Clinging to Rude, feeling him lean into that spark, hearing Rude growl so loud that it rumbled through both of their bodies had Reno so hard it hurt, but he couldn’t stop scenting on Rude like a compulsion. Even though he knew that this wasn’t how you were supposed to do it, it felt so much better _ with _ that little thorny catch that accompanied every pass of their skin. He wasn’t about to try his wrist again, not after it forced Rude to shift last time, but he felt an ache for it nonetheless. He wound up digging his own claws into his thigh just to stop himself from doing it because it felt like it was fucking magnetized to Rude’s neck. 

The longer they stayed tangled up, the more he wanted it. Feeling Rude curling around him, pulling on Reno’s hips as if he could possibly get himself any deeper, and the warmth of Rude coming over and over was sending Reno into a haze. 

The scope of his awareness was narrowing as he felt Rude’s hand sliding down his stomach. Fingers easing over his cock, finally easing that bone-deep ache that he hadn’t even realized had gotten as bad as it had until Rude was fixing it. Rude took a shuddering breath before he told Reno how fucking good he felt and Reno went limp with a laugh.

“Gimme your wrist,” Rude said.

Reno finally let his own leg go and Rude pressed Reno’s wrist right to his own neck. Rude was holding Reno tighter and tighter, and Reno was positive he’d already come, but it didn’t matter because there was this endless feeling in his stomach as Rude kept flexing his hand, working Reno with subtle movements that had him shivering uncontrollably. 

Rude was taking absolutely everything out of Reno. By the time Reno realized he was knotting Rude’s hand, he had hardly any energy left to react. He couldn’t bring himself to move, just tried to keep his hand on the back of Rude’s head, but he felt himself going weak in a way that went beyond physical exhaustion.

Both sides of him, every _ inch _ of him was satisfied.

Eventually, Rude coaxed Reno back down onto their sides. Huddled up against Rude, Reno didn’t exactly rest, he just kind of forgot that there was anything else in the world besides them. He didn’t even mind when Rude started to lick where he’d previously bitten Reno. More alpha shit, but it felt good in the moment. Normally, Reno would try to treat a bite at least a little bit, just to let it heal faster. Letting your alpha lick where they’d bitten was sure to make the mark hang around longer. He didn’t mind the thought, though. Really, it was about time he showed off Rude’s marks. _His_ alpha.

It was completely dark outside when the fog began to clear from his head. Reno could feel they had separated, though Rude was still pressed against Reno’s back. Judging from his breathing, Reno guessed he was asleep. Rude’s scent was still rich through the air but Reno didn’t feel like he needed to do anything about it.

He didn’t want to do anything at all, in fact. He just closed his eyes again and fell asleep.

It was heaven.

-

Hearing his alarm going off after their night together had Rude feeling like he was pulling himself out of sand just to sit upright. When he saw Reno nearly curled into a ball underneath him, he decided it was well worth the exhaustion. He hadn’t slept at all until he’d been able to break away from Reno, that protective instinct and the adrenaline running far too high, but he’d probably passed out the second they’d separated. It hadn’t left him much time, but as he nudged Reno awake and saw the red marks all down Reno’s neck, he couldn’t help but admire his own work.

“Don’t wanna,” Reno mumbled, turning right back over, but Rude caught his cheek and righted his head. 

“Gotta,” Rude said.

Reno’s scent was… calm.

Reno sniffed a few times and started to stretch his arms and legs. “How bad is my neck?”

“I think it looks great,” Rude said with a smirk.

“So you bit me to pieces, right?” Reno asked, opening one eye to read Rude’s expression. He nodded and closed his eyes again. “Yeah, you bit me to pieces.”

Rude leaned down and kissed Reno’s collar bone. “What’s that? You want another one before work?”

Reno laughed. “Yeah, asshole, bite me some more.”

He was grinning.

Rude was half expecting Reno to button up his uniform, but out he stepped in his usual open neck shirt, marks on full display. Rude tried not to smile too much as he made food, but it was absolutely lighting up his wolf brain to see his bite marks worn so shamelessly. Reno leaned against the fridge while Rude cooked, gaze flicking around the room like he was trying not to stare.

“What?” Rude asked.

Reno shook his head, pushing away from the fridge and drifting over to the table.

“You good?” Rude asked as Reno wandered out of his line of sight. 

“Yeah,” Reno said as he leaned his face against Rude’s back. “I’m good.”

He rested his hands on Rude’s waist and stayed there until the food was done.

-

“Well,” Tseng said as Reno stepped inside the pack house. “I see there’s been a development.”

“Holy shit,” Elena said from the kitchen table. “Like, _ eight _ developments. Damn, Rude.”

Rude just shrugged, leaning against the wall. Reno slid into the chair across from Elena, pointing at her with a gloved hand. 

“I’ll have you know that I was mugged on the way home last night,” Reno said. 

She snorted, glancing up at Rude as he tried not to smirk. 

“Yeah, what’d your _ friend _ over there do about it?” Elena asked, crossing her arms. 

Reno looked back at him. “He bit me! Don’t know what the fuck that’s about. Your friend gets mugged so you bite him? Seems kinda twisted.”

Rude walked over and tugged on Reno’s ponytail. “You forgot to mention the part where I heroically fought off that mugger for you.”

Reno grinned. “Yeah, yeah, you were a badass.”

Rude let him go and sat down with them. Tseng cleared his throat before delving into their schedule for the day. As the four of them headed to the car to drive over to the Shinra building, Tseng paused and looked at Reno.

“Perhaps, next week, you would like to spend the full moon with the rest of us?”

Reno’s eyes flashed for a split second before he shoved his hands into his pockets. “I mean, if you don’t mind having a weirdo hanging around.”

“I have never minded,” Tseng said, turning away to get into the passenger seat. 

Elena was beaming. “Yes! Four players is so much better!”

“Players?” Reno glanced up at Rude who rolled his eyes. 

“Elena’s been forcing us to play a board game when we get together for the full. She cheats.”

“i do not!” Elena yelled. 

“Not subtly,” Rude added, opening the door for Reno.

She covered her mouth as she grinned. “It was _ one _time!”

Reno slid into the car and Rude went in after him. As they drove over, Reno stretched out over the backseat and put his head on Rude’s leg.

“Wake me up when we’re there,” he said, eyes shut.

Rude put his hand on Reno’s stomach. “I got you.”

“It goes without saying,” Tseng said from the front seat. “That, should Reno join us for the full moon, any _bonded_ _pairs_ should behave themselves while we can all smell and hear you.”

“Oh my god, we won’t fuck in the guest room,” Reno said, though he smirked as he looked up at Rude. He put his hand up to shield his face and silently mouthed at Rude, _ bathroom_.

Rude covered Reno’s face with his hand and said, “We hear you, boss.”

Bonded sounded nice to him. Maybe not the usual way, but _their_ way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!! rude will have to pry a confession of commitment out of reno’s teeth someday.  
@oodleswrites if you wanna see more dumb reno & rude tweets   
and, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all!

**Author's Note:**

> i’m playing ff7 on the switch rn and i became fully possessed and needed to get this down.  
no anon comments, if you have nothing nice to say don’t say anything at all.  
@oodleswrites i am not a wholesome person but if you wanna talk to me about reno’s hip tattoos


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